By Denny Jacob


New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday said she sued CVS Health Corp. for violating antitrust laws and hurting New York safety-net hospitals and clinics.

The pharmacy chain required safety-net hospitals and clinics, which provide care for underserved communities across the state, to exclusively use a CVS-owned company, Wellpartner, to process and obtain federal subsidies on prescriptions filled at its pharmacies, Ms. James said, forcing them to incur millions in additional costs.

CVS didn't allow safety-net hospitals and clinics to use the company of their choice to obtain subsidies on prescriptions filled at CVS pharmacies through the 340B federal program, which allows them to purchase certain drugs at a discount from pharmaceutical companies and use the savings for patient care, the attorney general's office said.

The lawsuit alleges that CVS's business practice deprived safety-net hospitals and clinics of federal funding that could have been used to improve and expand patient care. It also alleges that the Rhode Island-based company's actions undermined the goal of the 340B program and hurt the financial condition of safety-net healthcare providers.

The attorney general's office said an investigation found CVS pharmacies didn't contract with hospitals that don't use Wellpartner, which the company acquired in 2017, as their third-party administrator, a violation of the state's antitrust laws.

"We are taking action to stop CVS's harmful practices and recoup critical funds to improve healthcare for our communities," Ms. James said.

A representative for CVS didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Dow Jones Newswires.


Write to Denny Jacob at denny.jacob@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-28-22 1201ET