Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill says she is investigating CVS after the company sent mass text messages to customers urging them to tell their legislators to oppose a bill on pharmacy benefits managers.
House Bill 358, which stirred ferocious debate in the waning hours of the legislative session but did not pass, would have barred companies from owning both pharmacy benefits managers and drug stores. Supporters said that would have stopped big companies from squeezing independent pharmacies out of the market and keeping too much of the savings they get on prescription drugs.
PBMs are meant to act as middlemen between pharmacies, health care plans and drug manufacturers to negotiate lower drug costs.
CVS, which owns both the drug store chain and a PBM, Caremark, said the bill would have forced them to close 119 pharmacies in Louisiana. The company launched a lobbying blitz on Wednesday that included a mass text message campaign telling customers the bill could force their drugstore to close and asking them to contact their legislator.
The text messages infuriated many lawmakers, who accused the company of scare tactics.
In a note distributed to legislators on the floor Thursday, Murrill pointed out that CVS manages the drug plans for state employees through the Office of Group Benefits.
“My office will be investigating whether CVS improperly appropriated to its own use the personal information of OGB members and will take legal action if it did,” the note said. “This is not an appropriate use of personal information obtained through a state contract.”
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, though, Murrill said she was her investigation was "broader than just the OGB contract." She said she would examine whether CVS engaged in "unfair and deceptive trade practices by improperly using people's personal information in a way that they did not permit."
Murrill announced on X that she was sending CVS a cease-and-desist letter and civil investigative demands.
Gov. Jeff Landry also spoke out against CVS’ lobbying action in a post on X,
“Abusing patients’ sensitive information to push a political message is completely unethical and manipulative and we will not stand for it,” the post said.
Amy Thibault, a CVS spokesperson, issued a statement saying the company's communications with its customers, patients and community members were "consistent with the law."
"This bill came together yesterday with no public hearing," Thibault said. "We believe we have a responsibility to inform our customers of misguided legislation that seeks to shutter their trusted pharmacy, and we acted accordingly."
Thibault referred to the fact that the PBM legislation came through an amendment to a bill that originally set rules for remote work for pharmacy technicians.
That amendment was proposed while the bill was in a conference committee, a closed-door process where a group of House and Senate members meet to hash out agreements on bills when one chamber has rejected the other's amendments.
Lawmakers on Thursday expressed consternation at the idea that CVS had used customer information to send out lobbying texts. State Rep. Beryl Amedée, R-Gray, saying she found it “disturbing.”
“I’m going to assume that somewhere in the tremendous amount of fine print that comes when you sign up for anything these days, that they have covered their potential liability here, but I still think that’s outside the boundaries of what customers expected when they gave their phone numbers to get prescription updates,” she said. “I’m very disappointed in CVS because the messaging that they did send out was untrue and I consider it propaganda.”
Lawmakers shared screenshots of texts that CVS sent to constituents.
One said HB358 would “prohibit CVS Specialty from serving you and thousands of other patients who receive specialty prescription drugs.”
“You will lose access to your pharmacy team, pharmacy supportive services, and you will need to be serviced by an alternate specialty pharmacy provider,” it said.
The text included a link for customers to send messages to their elected officials.
“I’ve been getting comments from my constituents and friends, and they’re terrified, and it ain’t right,” said state Rep. Michael Bayham, R-Chalmette.
