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The Department of Justice filed a civil complaint Wednesday accusing CVS Pharmacy Inc. and various subsidiaries filled “illegal” prescriptions in violation of the federal Controlled Substances Act.
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The complaint also alleges that CVS sought reimbursement from federal health care programs for such prescriptions in violation of the False Claims Act. CVS is the largest pharmacy chain in the US, with more than 9,000 pharmacies.
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A representative for CVS said the company has been cooperating with the DOJ’s investigation for more than four years, and strongly disagrees with the allegations and what it called a “false narrative” within the complaint.
Among the illegal orders CVS is said to have filled since Oct. 17, 2013, so far was a dangerous and excessive amount of opioids, early fillings of opioids, and prescriptions of “triads” – a dangerous combination of drugs made up of an opioid, a benzodiazepine and a muscle relaxant, according to prosecutors.
CVS allegedly also filled dozens of prescriptions for controlled drugs written by people it knew had engaged in “pill diversion practices” — that is, prescribers dispensing large numbers of controlled drugs without a medical purpose, investigators said.
According to the complaint, CVS ignored substantial evidence from multiple sources, including its own pharmacists and internal data, showing that its stores were dispensing those prescriptions.
“This lawsuit alleges that CVS failed to exercise its critical role as a gatekeeper for dangerous opioids and, instead, facilitated the illegal proliferation of these highly addictive drugs, including through pill dispensers,” said US Attorney Zachary Cunha for the District of Rhode Island. in a press release.
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If CVS is found guilty, it could face civil penalties for each illegal prescription filled with damages and other penalties for each prescription returned by federal health care plans.
The company said it is cooperating with investigators.
“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 through a global settlement with the participating state’s Attorneys General,” it said. Amy Thibault, director of external communications for CVS in a written statement.
Each prescription in question was for an FDA-approved opioid prescribed by a physician who the government itself approved, certified and authorized to write prescriptions for controlled drugs, Thibault added.
The filing of the complaint follows Friday’s announcement that consulting firm McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal investigation into its work helping opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma boost sales of the highly addictive drug OxyContin.
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It’s the latest effort by federal prosecutors to hold companies to account for officials they say have helped fuel the US addiction and overdose crisis, with opioids linked to more than 80,000 annual deaths in recent years. Over the past decade, most of these deaths have been attributed to illegal fentanyl, which has been mixed with many other illegal drugs. At the beginning of the epidemic, prescription pills were the leading cause of death.
Over the past eight years, drug manufacturers, retailers and pharmacies have agreed to an estimated $50 billion in settlements with the government – much of the money needed to combat the problem.
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