The lawsuit reads, “CVS knowingly and intentionally overcharged pharmacy customers for generic prescription drugs by submitting claims for payment to third-party payors and fraudulently inflated prices.”
The lawsuit was filed by seven CVS customers from different parts of the country, with all of them seeking “monetary damages.” When CNN Money reached out to CVS for a response to the charges, the company didn’t immediately respond.
But a CVS company spokesman, Michel DeAngelis, spoke to the Associated Press saying CVS had not been served with the lawsuit so he couldn’t comment on it, according to WTVR.com. DeAngelis also added that co-pays are determined based on a customer’s prescription plan, and a similar lawsuit brought in Massachusetts was eventually dismissed.
In one of the examples cited in the lawsuit, CVS is accused of charging $135 for a 90-day supply of a generic version of Fosamax, a prescription medication used to prevent osteoporosis. It was found that customers paying cash for the same medication were only charged $12.
The lawsuit against CVS comes six weeks after it was announced that CVS Health and Target announced a deal had been made for CVS to acquire Target’s pharmacy and clinic businesses for $1.9 billion. Target operates 1,660 pharmacies within its stores in 47 states.
