Lawsuit says Caremark Rx pockets money saved on drugs - 07/29/04

Article from the Tennessean.com

Caremark Rx Inc. is the target of a lawsuit saying that the company's business practices violate federal law and drive up prescription drug costs for members of the pharmacy benefit plans it manages.

The lawsuit was filed late Monday in U.S. District Court in Nashville. It is one of more than a half-dozen cases that have been brought against the pharmacy benefit management industry recently by a multi-state group of lawyers.

''It's a consortium of lawyers who have banded together to cure the ills of the pharmacy benefit management industry,'' said Brentwood attorney John A. Day, who filed the lawsuit here.

The lawsuit comes while Caremark's business practices are under review by attorneys general in as many as 19 states, and it is defending itself against a whistle-blower lawsuit in Florida that accuses Caremark of reselling medicines in that state and not reimbursing a government health plan. Caremark denies any wrongdoing.

The lawyers' group has previously filed two other cases against Caremark in Birmingham, Ala. It has a lawsuit pending against Medco, the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the country, filed in White Plains, N.Y. Other cases have been filed in St. Louis, Los Angeles and in New Jersey against other such companies, Day said.