Legal Action Targets Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Opioid Crisis
In a bold legal move, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has initiated a lawsuit against two prominent pharmacy benefit managers, Optum and Express Scripts, accusing them of exacerbating the state’s opioid crisis. The lawsuit contends that these entities, which serve as intermediaries among drug manufacturers, insurers, and pharmacies, played a significant role in worsening the opioid epidemic in Arizona.
Filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, Mayes’ consumer fraud lawsuit claims that for over 20 years, these companies have maintained close ties with opioid producers to promote the distribution of these addictive drugs. According to Richie Taylor, spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office, the companies were primarily focused on maximizing prescription sales for profit. “Basically they were just trying to move as many prescriptions for opioids as quickly as they could to make as much money as they could,” he stated.
The lawsuit accuses the companies of disseminating materials that downplayed the addiction risks associated with opioids and not implementing necessary checks, such as prior authorization, which could have slowed down the dispensing process by ensuring prescriptions were appropriate.
The impact of opioids in Arizona has been severe, with thousands of fatalities from overdoses. The Attorney General’s office claims that the actions of pharmacy benefit managers have significantly increased the availability of opioids, consequently heightening addiction and overdose rates, and leading to substantial healthcare and societal costs.
The legal action seeks restitution, civil penalties, and corrective measures, alongside a court order to halt the alleged practices. In response, Optum has denied the allegations, stating, “This lawsuit is a misdirected attempt to cast blame on Optum for a public health crisis caused entirely by other actors. Optum did not contribute to this crisis, and on the contrary has been a leader in fighting opioid abuse — proactively and vigorously working for years to implement solutions and support affected communities.”
However, Express Scripts did not provide a comment on the matter when approached by KJZZ.
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