Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced this (Friday) morning that a lawsuit has been filed against 18 pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insulin manufacturers, alleging they unlawfully manipulated and inflated insulin prices for Iowans. About 300,000 Iowans live with diabetes, and another 820,000 have prediabetes, according to Bird. The lawsuit argues that the defendants’ actions have overcharged Iowa patients by millions of dollars each year while cutting off access to lower-priced insulin deemed less profitable for the companies. The state also alleges that some patients who are unable to afford their prescriptions resort to rationing doses, using expired insulin, or reusing needles, which can lead to severe complications or death. The suit cites published insulin prices in Iowa ranging from $300 to $400, while products sold in other countries cost less than $5. Insulin was first identified and isolated by researchers in 1921, and the three men who made the medical breakthrough sold the patent for $1 to ensure patients had access. Bird is asking the court to halt the practices and order restitution and damages for Iowans harmed. A list of the named defendants is included below.
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- Eli Lilly and Company
- Novo Nordisk Inc.
- Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC
- Evernor Health, Inc. (Formerly Express Scripts Holding Company)
- Express Scripts, Inc.
- Express Scripts Administrators, LLC
- ESI Mail Pharmacy Service, Inc.
- Express Scripts Pharmacy, Inc.
- Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
- CVS Health Corporation
- CVS Pharmacy, Inc.
- Caremark Rx, LLC
- CaremarkPCS Health, LLC
- Caremark, LLC
- UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
- Optum, Inc.
- OptumRx, Inc.
- OptumInsight, Inc.
