Conn., CVS in dispute over drug retailer’s discount program

Conn., CVS in dispute over discount program

HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday he has demanded documents from CVS Caremark in a dispute over what he says is the drug retailer’s threat to end a consumer discount drug program in the state.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell had asked Blumenthal to investigate, saying CVS could be violating state law and robbing Connecticut consumers of valuable discounts.

Blumenthal and the commissioner of the Department of Consumer Protection demand CVS explain why providing the discounts to the state Medicaid program would result in an end to its Health Savings Pass program in Connecticut.

In a letter to CVS Caremark CEO Thomas M. Ryan, Blumenthal said state officials are concerned that CVS “singled out” Connecticut for elimination of the drug discount program, which he said operates in other states where CVS Caremark does business.

A spokesman for the Woonsocket, R.I., company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

State law enacted this year requires pharmacies to charge Medicaid the lowest drug price offered to consumers and links those prices to savings and discount programs such as the CVS Health Savings Pass program.

“The new law is simply an exercise in fairness, making sure that patients on the taxpayer-funded Medicaid program get the same relief from high drug prices that other customers receive,” Rell said.

With the Health Savings Pass program, consumers pay $10 a year to fill a 90-day prescription of one of 400 generic drugs for $9.99 and may receive other benefits, Blumenthal said.

In a subpoena to CVS, Blumenthal demands that the company provide by July 9 documents backing its statement that extending Health Savings Pass discounts to the state Medicaid program makes the plan “economically unfeasible” in Connecticut.

Blumenthal, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, is seeking details about the number of Connecticut consumers enrolled in the Health Savings Pass program and other states where it is offered and consumer contracts, marketing materials and other documents related to the program.