Kentucky’s legal professional normal is suing the pharmacy profit supervisor (PBM) Categorical Scripts over its position in “worsening” the state’s opioid disaster.
Within the grievance filed in state court docket, Legal professional Basic Russell Coleman (R) argued Espress Scripts “is at the center of” the opioid dishing out chain that helped gasoline the disaster.
Coleman claimed the corporate and its associates colluded with producers in misleading advertising and marketing practices to extend opioid gross sales. He mentioned Categorical Scripts additionally ignored proof of habit and misuse present in its personal claims knowledge.
“Defendants ignored evidence of misuse, addiction, and diversion and used their data to boost Express Scripts’ profits and manufacturers’ sales at the expense of public health and safety,” the grievance said.
Coleman mentioned Kentucky has been on the epicenter of the opioid disaster and has a number of the highest charges of overdose deaths. Final 12 months alone, 1,984 Kentuckians died of a drug overdose, he mentioned.
“The role of Express Scripts in causing the opioid epidemic has been largely concealed from public view,” the grievance said.
“However it has now change into clear that, for a minimum of the final twenty years, Categorical Scripts has had a key position in facilitating the oversupply of opioids by intentional conduct that disregarded wanted safeguards with a view to enhance the prescribing, dishing out, and gross sales of prescription opioids.”
Categorical Scripts mentioned it has an extended historical past of working with its well being plan sponsor shoppers throughout the nation.
“We will vigorously contest these baseless allegations in court,” the corporate mentioned in an announcement to The Hill.
In recent times, lawmakers and regulators have more and more scrutinized the enterprise practices of PBMs, the opaque intermediaries within the middle of the pharmaceutical distribution system.
PBMs negotiate the phrases and situations of entry to prescribed drugs for a whole lot of thousands and thousands of People. They’re accountable for negotiating costs with drug firms, paying pharmacies and figuring out which medication sufferers can entry and the way a lot they price.
Coleman’s lawsuit follows one filed by Arkansas, which in July sued Categorical Scripts and Optum, alleging PBMs contributed to the dramatic rise within the abuse of painkillers.
Kentucky’s lawsuit says the state is entitled to $2,000 for every willful violation of the Kentucky Client Safety Act.
“Express Scripts and the other pharmacy benefit managers amassed an unprecedented level of power, using it to push opioid pills and conceal unlawful activity,” Coleman mentioned in an announcement. “They must be held to account for profiting off Kentucky families’ pain.”
