INDIANA – Attorney General Todd Rokita continues his fight against Big Pharma in a new lawsuit against drug manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) for inflating insulin prices for hardworking Hoosiers.
Approximately 640,435 Indiana residents have been diagnosed with diabetes, and over 1.7 million people are pre-diabetic. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, and lower limb amputations. It is the seventh leading cause of death in Indiana despite the availability of effective treatment.
“Diabetes is a public health crisis for Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “This is a serious condition that requires insulin, putting patients in the impossible position of choosing between health and financial security.”
The lawsuit filed by Attorney General Rokita includes drug manufacturers Sanofi-Aventis and Novo Nordisk and PBMs CaremarkPCS Health, Express Scripts, CVS Health Corp., and Optum RX for conspiring to raise prices on insulin medications by more than 1,000% in the last decade alone despite decreasing manufacturing costs.
“Too many Hoosiers have been forced to ration because drug manufacturers and PBMs have prioritized profits over patients,” said Attorney General Rokita. “Hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents rely on these medications to stay alive, and these prices discourage people from taking care of their health.”
According to the Complaint, every year, the direct medical expenses associated with diabetes care in Indiana are an estimated five billion dollars. If everyone with diabetes could adhere to their medication protocol, over $8.3 billion in direct medical costs would be saved annually.
“Our office hopes this case will also set a strong precedent for other pharmaceutical companies who want to take advantage of everyday Hoosiers,” Attorney General Rokita said. “Families are suffering enough already with the economic decline. Targeting and scheming against those who have a medical condition like diabetes is absolutely unethical.”
This is just one of the many times Attorney General Rokita’s Office has taken on dishonest companies that regularly harm Hoosier patients. Since Rokita took office, he has obtained a $66.5 million settlement against Centene for their failure to disclose true costs, won a $573 million multi-state settlement against McKinsey & Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma, and secured nearly $7 million in an Indiana Medicaid fraud settlement against Mallinckrodt.
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