WASHINGTON, July 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pharmacy customers of CVS Health Corporation (CVS) filed a class action lawsuit today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California alleging that CVS employed a fraudulent scheme to overcharge millions of customers across the country for generic prescription drugs. Attorneys from Hausfeld and Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP represent the plaintiffs and filed the suit on their behalf.
CVS is alleged to have implemented and maintained a false and deceptive pricing scheme affecting more than 400 generic drugs, forcing customers with health insurance to pay CVS copayments far higher than the usual and customary price CVS charged its cash-paying customers.
"Consumers filled more than 935 million prescriptions at CVS last year, capturing nearly a quarter of the U.S. market. The potential scope of the harm alleged in the complaint is massive," said Robert B. Gilmore, a partner with Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP.
CVS generates approximately $67 billion in annual revenues from its retail pharmacy business, and plaintiffs allege that CVS' wrongful overcharging is a significant percentage of those revenues.
"As alleged in the complaint, for seven years CVS has systematically been overcharging their insured consumers for prescriptions. The alleged scheme is especially harmful to those people with low or fixed incomes who use medications on a regular basis. Plaintiffs assert that the drug chain wrongfully has charged insured consumers inflated copayments on more than 400 generic medications, including some of the most commonly used drugs on the market today. According to the complaint, millions of people have been affected by this misconduct," said Hausfeld partner Richard S. Lewis.
The plaintiffs seek to represent all consumers who were participants in third-party healthcare plans and who filled their prescriptions for certain generic drugs at CVS between November 2008 and the present, and paid more than prices available under the CVS Health Savings Pass program.
The plaintiffs are jointly represented by Washington, D.C.-based firms Hausfeld and Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP, both of which carry substantial experience in class action, healthcare, and commercial litigation.
A copy of the complaint is available on the Hausfeld firm site: www.hausfeld.com, and on the Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP firm site: www.steinmitchell.com.
Insured CVS pharmacy customers may contact the firms to learn more about their legal rights. For additional inquires, please contact Kristen Ward Broz (Hausfeld) at 202-540-7170 kward@hausfeld.com or Erin Clancy (Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP) at 202-661-0936. Customers can also email inquiries to cvs@steinmitchell.com.
ABOUT HAUSFELD
Hausfeld is a leading global law firm with offices in Washington, DC; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Brussels; and London. The firm has a broad range of complex litigation expertise, particularly in consumer, antitrust/competition, financial services, sports and entertainment, environmental, mass torts, and human rights matters. Hausfeld aims to achieve the best possible results for clients through its practical and commercial approach, avoiding litigation where feasible, yet litigating robustly when necessary. Hausfeld's extensive experience with alternative and innovative fee models offers clients a diverse menu of engagement options and maximum flexibility in terms of managing their cost exposure.
For more information about the firm, including recent trial victories and landmark settlements, please visit: www.hausfeld.com.
ABOUT STEIN MITCHELL MUSE CIPOLLONE & BEATO LLP
Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP is a leading litigation law firm with national and international reach that has achieved successful results for clients for more than 50 years. Our trial attorneys combine superior legal expertise with creative solutions to deliver efficient results and maximum value. Stein Mitchell Muse Cipollone & Beato LLP enjoys national prominence for providing respected and effective counsel in complex, high-stakes litigation, including commercial litigation, consumer class actions, and whistleblower suits. For more information about the firm, please visit www.steinmitchell.com.