The Office of Group Benefits is asking the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget to approve an emergency PBM contract with CVS/Caremark on Friday, September 18, 2020.
LIPA objects to the granting of an emergency contract with CVS.
CVS refuses to pay the 10 cent provider fee to the Louisiana Department of Health on thousands of claims. State law requires the fee to be paid on all outpatient prescription claims to help fund the Medicaid program—a program which pays CVS millions of dollars.
CVS continues to hinder and refuse credentialing of small business pharmacies in their networks.
CVS limits patients access to local pharmacies by requiring out-of-state mail order pharmacies and using only their CVS stores through contract manipulation.
CVS does not accurately pay sales taxes due on prescription drugs to pharmacies nor to local and municipal governments.
CVS has been shown to pay their own drug stores more than Walgreen, Costco, and independently owned drug stores.
CVS through their influence and control of PCMA consistently misleads and misinforms the patients, employers and the public.
We see consistently that CVS agrees to abide by regulation and then fights to say laws shouldn’t/wouldn’t/couldn’t apply to them.
The legislature overwhelmingly passed 2019 Act 124/SB 41—to date, CVS' PBM refuses to be licensed by the Board of Pharmacy. PBM trade organization PCMA fights any attempt for the Board to act.
CVS objects to regulation for the majority of its business by the Department of Insurance and laws of Louisiana and claims exemption from any state action.
OGB contract requires MedImpact to abide by all state laws, rules and regulations and 2019 Act 124, Senate Bill 41. MedImpact does not own drugstore or mail order pharmacies to steer patients to.
There is little reason to subject the State, its employees and the citizens to more heavy handed tactics by this large corporation.
Please contact these members of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and ask them to oppose the CVS emergency OGB contract.
Click on Member's name for contact information including phone number and email address.