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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a complaint in federal court alleging that CVS Pharmacy filled illegal prescriptions in violation of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA).
The federal complaint is against the country’s largest pharmaceutical company, which has more than 9,000 stores nationwide, alleging that it “fills prescriptions for controlled drugs that have no legitimate therapeutic purpose, are ineffective, and/or were not dispensed in the normal course of business.”
The DOJ alleges that the drug store giant has continued to engage in illegal activities since Oct. 17, 2013, until now.
The Justice Department alleges that CVS filled an excessive and dangerous amount of opioids, prematurely filled opioids and illegally “triaded prescriptions.”
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The lawsuit alleges that CVS Health filled the illegal prescriptions. (Photos by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The “drug trinity” is a combination of prescription drugs that include an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant.
The complaint also alleges that CVS was flooded with prescriptions written by prescribers who they knew were involved in “pill diversion,” which was when pharmacists dispensed large amounts of drugs without a medical purpose.
“According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, indicating that its stores were dispensing illegal prescriptions,” the DOJ said.
Opioid hydrocodone tablets at a pharmacy in Portsmouth, Ohio, June 21, 2017. (Reuters/Bryan Woolston/File Photo/Reuters)
The Justice Department accuses CVS of violating practices over performance metrics, compensation benefits and employee policies.
“CVS sets staffing standards too low for pharmacists to meet their performance standards and comply with their legal obligations,” the complaint states.
It also withheld important information from pharmacists that could have prevented the number of illegally filled prescriptions, the DOJ said.
The DOJ also alleged that CVS, through its inaction, helped fuel the opioid crisis in the US.
“This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to fulfill its essential role as a gatekeeper for dangerous opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal distribution of these highly addictive drugs, including prescription pills,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary Cunha.
“If companies like CVS profit from patient safety and overburden their pharmacy staff so they can’t do the basic job of making sure prescriptions are legal, we’re going to use every tool we have to make sure they respond,” he said. said.
The DOJ said CVS could face civil penalties for every illegal order filed in violation of the CSA, fines for each order returned by federal health care plans and injunctive relief to prevent CVS from committing further violations.
CVS Pharmacy (Jeffrey Greenberg/Academic Images/Worldwide Image Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)
In a statement sent to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for CVS Pharmacy said CVS officials “strongly disagree” with the allegations and “false history” presented by the DOJ.
| A ticker | Security | Finally | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVS | CVS HEALTH CORP. | 59.08 | -0.77 |
-1.29% |
“We have cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation for more than four years, and strongly disagree with the allegations and false narrative in this complaint,” the company said. “We will vigorously defend ourselves in this federal wrongful-action lawsuit, which follows years of litigation over these issues by state and local governments — claims that have largely been resolved in a global settlement with participating federal attorneys.
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“The government’s lawsuit seeks to enforce a changing pharmacy practice standard. Many of the lawsuit’s ideas set forth in the complaint are not found in any law or regulation and relate to topics where the government has declined to provide guidance,” CVS said. “Each of the prescriptions in question was for an FDA-approved opioid prescribed by a physician who was personally licensed, authorized and authorized to write controlled drug prescriptions.”
The Food And Drug Administration logo outside its headquarters on July 20, 2020, in White Oak, Md. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for CVS Pharmacy pointed to its history of being an industry leader in developing ways to combat the opioid crisis.
“As one example, 12 years ago, CVS Pharmacy pioneered a first-of-its-kind program to block prescriptions for controlled drugs that doctors may be concerned about. To date, we have blocked more than 1,250 doctors, including nearly 600 prescription drug users. the government continues to grant the license,” CVS said.
“This program is not required by any statute or regulation, and CVS Health has repeatedly defended lawsuits from those who say we are going too far in opioid prevention.
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“The federal case reinforces a serious problem for pharmacists, who are accused at the same time of dispensing too many opioids and too few.”
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