News Briefs: CVS Caremark to Pay Illinois $45 Million

CVS Health Corp.'s Caremark will pay at least $45 million to the state of Illinois to settle accusations from the state's attorney general, Democrat Kwame Raoul, that the PBM didn’t pass through rebates to the state's health plans. According to a June settlement document obtained by STAT, Raoul accused CVS of "unlawfully depriv[ing] the state" of owed rebates negotiated with manufacturers for prescription drugs. CVS denied mishandling the rebates but still agreed to settle the case.

Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark, a Democrat has filed a lawsuit against The Cigna Group’s Evernorth and Caremark. A July 17 press release alleges that the two PBMs “grant placement on their standard formularies to the prescription drugs with the largest payments from manufacturers and the highest list prices, while excluding lower-cost prescription drugs.” Clark is just the latest state attorney general to target PBMs. Among others, Arkansas Republican Attorney general Tim Griffin recently sued UnitedHealth Group’s Optum Rx and Evernorth over their alleged roles in the opioid epidemic. And in 2023, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit accusing Express Scripts, Prime Therapeutics, Humana Pharmacy Solutions and Ascent Health Services of colluding to drive up drug prices.