Kentucky sues Express Scripts for its role in deadly opioid addiction crisis

FRANKFORT, KY — Kentucky's attorney general has sued Express Scripts, accusing the large pharmacy benefit manager of being at the center of an opioid dispensing chain that fueled the deadly addiction crisis that still plagues the state.

A lawsuit filed this week in state court by Attorney General Russell Coleman alleges that St. Louis-based Express Scripts and its affiliates conspired with opioid manufacturers in a deceptive marketing scheme to increase sales of addictive drugs. claims.

The result, the lawsuit says, was an epidemic of “overdoses and deaths from an oversupply of opioids flooding communities with powerful corporations seeking to profit at the expense of the public.”

Express Scripts responded Friday that it has long worked to combat opioid overuse and abuse and will “strongly contest these baseless allegations in court.”

The government's lawsuit against pharmacy benefit managers is the latest frontier in a long line of litigation over the worst drug epidemic the United States has ever seen, and perhaps the last major lawsuit.

This class of drugs has been linked to about 75,000 deaths in the United States in the 12 months ending April 30th. Most deaths in recent years have been linked to illegal fentanyl and other lab-made opioids, the drug of choice for some users. And it is also mixed with other illegal drugs.

Kentucky has one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation, making it the epicenter of the crisis.

“Express Script's role in sparking the opioid epidemic has been largely hidden from public view,” the Kentucky lawsuit states. “However, over the past two decades, Express Scripts has played a significant role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids through intentional acts that disregard necessary safeguards to increase prescriptions, dispensing, and sales of prescriptions. It's now clear what happened to opioids. ”

Pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) administer prescription drug insurance for health insurance companies and employers. These help determine which drugs make up the plan's formulary, or list of covered drugs. You can also decide where patients go to fill their prescriptions.

For many years, pharmacy benefits managers object of anger For politicians, patients and others. However, PBMs play an important role in controlling drug costs and say they pass most of their negotiated discounts on to their customers.

In June, the state of arkansas sued Two pharmacy benefit managers have been accused of fueling the state's opioid crisis. The lawsuit was filed in state court against Express Scripts, Optum, and its subsidiaries.

Pharmaceutical companies, wholesalers and pharmacy chains are already facing thousands of lawsuits, many of which have been settled in a series of deals that could be worth more than $50 billion over the long term. Most of the needed funds will be used to fight the overdose and addiction crisis.

PBMs and several government plaintiffs are exchanging records in preparation for a series of federal trials that are at least a year away. They can be a starting point for reconciliation.

The Kentucky lawsuit against Express Scripts and its affiliates alleges that the state should receive $2,000 for each willful violation of the Kentucky Consumer Protection Act, along with any other penalties the court deems appropriate. The lawsuit was filed in Jessamine County Circuit Court in Nicholasville.

Coleman, a Republican, is among a series of Kentucky attorneys general from both parties, including former attorney general and current Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who have gone to court to hold opioid manufacturers and distributors accountable. He is the newest person. Role in causing the addiction crisis.

Coleman's predecessor, Republican Daniel Cameron, secured more than $800 million for Kentucky as part of a settlement with corporations for their role in the addiction crisis. Half of Kentucky's settlements will go directly to cities and counties. The commission oversees half the state's distribution.

The latest lawsuit alleges that Express Scripts failed to report suspicious quantities of opioids coming into Kentucky. According to the complaint, the company dispenses opioids through mail-order pharmacies without effective controls, violating Kentucky and federal law.

“Express Scripts and other pharmacy benefit managers amassed unprecedented levels of power and used it to promote opioid drugs and cover up illegal activity,” Coleman said in a statement Thursday. “They must be held accountable for profiting from the suffering of Kentucky families.” ”

medicine Died of overdose in Kentucky Although it fell nearly 10% in 2023, the second consecutive year of decline, state leaders say the death toll remains distressingly high and the fight against the drug epidemic is far from over. . Nearly 2,000 Kentuckians died from drug overdoses last year.

Coleman recently Statewide drug prevention program For young people. Beshear said Kentucky is at the forefront of the nation in the number of drug and alcohol treatment beds per capita. In Washington, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has directed massive amounts of federal funding to home states to combat addiction problems.

___

Associated Press writer Jeff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.