Hamilton County is suing pharmacy benefit managers and drug manufacturers over the price of insulin.
County Prosecutor Connie Pillich says pharmacy benefit managers (or PBMs) and manufacturers colluded on prices.
“Some health care companies are prioritizing profits over patients,” she says. “Our goal is to protect taxpayers and hold those responsible accountable.”
The suit names CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx, along with drug manufacturers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi.
Pillich says the PBMs named in the suit control 96% of the global market for insulin.
“Keep in mind that not a single one of these pharmacy manufacturers invented insulin, or developed it, or patented it, or had to pay for the patent or the use of it,” Pillich says. “Not a single one.”
Insulin was discovered in 1921 by Canadian researchers.
Pillich says the suit is filed in U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio, and is seeking unspecified damages. She says the firm representing the county is working on a contingency basis so there's no risk to taxpayers.
County commissioners are comparing it to another suit: drug makers and the opioid crisis.
Commissioner Denise Driehaus says drug makers settled accusations they fueled opioid addiction.
“And now those dollars are coming into our community and helping people on the ground, get people into long-term recovery that suffer from addiction,” she says. “I see this in a similar way, where we are going after the big guys in the hope we can provide some sort of relief for people that live in this community and Hamilton County taxpayers.”
Commission President Stephanie Summerow Dumas says the suit should have happened a long time ago.
“A life saving medication has been around for many, many decades,” she says. “It’s skyrocketed, as far as the price, placing an unfair burden on our people.”
Commissioners say insulin is the single highest cost prescription drug category in the county's health plan.
Commission Vice President Alicia Reece says it's too early to talk about any money from a settlement.
“One of the things we want to do though is to send a message to drive the costs down,” she says. “So in other words, if you’re doing business in Hamilton County, when grandma and the grandkids have to go to the pharmacy that cost is driven down.”
The prosecutor says several other Ohio counties have filed similar suits. Pillich says she's unaware of settlements in any other cases.
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