Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has filed three lawsuits against CVS Health Corp and its affiliates for deceptive and anti-competitive practices.
The lawsuits accuse CVS of misusing customer data, manipulating drug prices, and undermining independent pharmacies across the state.
The State seeks injunctive relief and restitution, with support from Governor Jeff Landry who condemned the PBM's actions.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has filed three lawsuits against CVS Health Corp, its pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) arm CaremarkPCS Health, LLC, and related entities.
The legal action accuses the pharmaceutical giant of engaging in a pattern of deceptive, unethical, and unlawful conduct that has harmed Louisiana patients, independent pharmacies, and the state’s broader healthcare system.
At the center of one lawsuit is a bold accusation that CVS misappropriated personal health information to sway public opinion and influence legislation. On June 11, CVS allegedly sent out text messages to customers—using contact information originally provided for prescription notifications—urging them to oppose House Bill 358. The messages were described as misleading, fear-inducing, and aimed at protecting CVS’s economic interests rather than patient welfare.
“CVS used their customers' personal information that was given to them to fill their prescription, to lobby for their own corporate interests,” Murrill said. “It’s wrong and unlawful.”
CVS responds
CVS has denied the allegations in the lawsuits, defending its actions as lawful and necessary.
A second lawsuit targets CVS’s control of the pharmaceutical supply chain through its PBM arm, Caremark. According to the complaint, CVS has developed a vertically integrated empire encompassing everything from insurance (via its 2018 acquisition of Aetna) to clinics, home infusion services, and pharmacies.
This structure allegedly allows CVS to dictate prices, limit competition, and obscure the true cost of medications by manipulating rebates and fees.
Murrill argues this is like a monopoly that enables CVS to drive drug prices up rather than manage costs as PBMs are intended to do.
The third lawsuit accuses CVS of leveraging its market power to undercut Louisiana’s independent pharmacies through excessive fees and coercive contract terms.
Murroll said Independent pharmacy operators reportedly faced the threat of expulsion from CVS’s provider network unless they accepted punitive financial conditions. These actions, the state argues, violate Louisiana’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.