CVS must face class-action suit, appeals court rules

Alia Paavola -

A federal appeals court revived a class-action lawsuit alleging CVS Health overcharged millions of customers for generic drugs, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The lawsuit, initially filed in Oakland, Calif., in 2015, accused CVS of violating federal law by charging customers with private or government insurance more for drugs than uninsured patients who were paying out-of-pocket.

Plaintiffs claimed deductibles CVS charged to insured customers were significantly higher than the prices for cash-paying customers enrolled in its Health Savings Pass Program. Rather than continuing to collect deductibles, CVS should have designated its Health Savings Price as "usual and customary," the lawsuit claims.

U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers dismissed the suit in September 2017, arguing that insurance companies knew of the health savings pass and didn't consider the membership program as a "usual and customary price."

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled June 13 that the lower-court decision was flawed because it failed to properly weigh the evidence, according to the report.

Access the full report here.

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