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Arkansas joins settlement with Caremark Rx Saturday, Feb 16, 2008 Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas and 28 other states have entered into a settlement of consumer protection claims against one of the nation's largest pharmacy benefits management companies, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel announced Friday. The states allege that Caremark Rx engaged in deceptive business practices by encouraging doctors to switch patients to different brand name prescription drugs and representing that the patients would save money. Doctors, however, were not adequately informed of the effect the switch would have on costs to patients and health plans, the states said. Additionally, Caremark did not clearly disclose to their clients plans that money earned by Caremark accrued from the drug switching process would be retained by Caremark and not passed directly to the client plan, the attorneys general said. The complaint also alleges that Caremark restocked and re-shipped previously dispensed drugs that had been returned to Caremark's mail order pharmacies. Arkansas' share of the $38.5 million settlement is $654,971. As part of the settlement, Caremark is required to significantly change its business practices and pay up to $2.5 million in reimbursement to patients who incurred expenses related to certain switches between cholesterol-controlling drugs, McDaniel said. |
