ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Jan. 10, 2024) – The National Community Pharmacists Association today cheered a class action lawsuit against Express Scripts, alleging that the massive pharmacy benefit manager, one of the largest in the world, colluded with several smaller PBMs to rig reimbursement rates and shake down pharmacies for higher fees.
The lawsuit, filed by Berger Montague and several other law firms, claims that Express Scripts used its dominant market position to push rival PBMs to impose excessive back-end fees on pharmacies and then share the revenue with Express Scripts. Express Scripts announced one such arrangement in 2019 with Prime Therapeutics, a smaller PBM. NCPA warned then that the relationship would lead to unfavorable terms for community pharmacies.
“These two companies operating separately already exert tremendous downward pressure on independent pharmacies. By joining forces, they can put many out of business and steer their patients to larger competitors,” said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, pharmacist, MBA at the time. In a 2020 letter to state attorneys general, Hoey urged them to scrutinize the collaboration.
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