Finally!

I've been battling to preserve independent pharmacy my entire career, all the way back to my pharmacy in Rockport 40 years ago. And I've been fighting predatory PBMs most of that time. So today I couldn't be happier! Even if this afternoon's football score favors the wrong team, it won't take the smile off my face.

After deciding enough is enough, pharmacies owned by six pharmacists on the American Pharmacies board of directors are suing CVS Caremark. American Pharmacies is providing financial support for the lawsuit.

The suit says CVS Caremark is violating  the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and misappropriates trade secrets. The complaint also says CVS Caremark contracts requiring patients to buy maintenance medications only from CVS Caremark violate the Texas "Any Willing Provider" law.

The suit claims CVS Caremark violates the firewall between the retail pharmacy and PBM entities as required when the Federal Trade Commission approved the CVS and Caremark 2007 merger. Instead, the suit further alleges the combined company built an information technology platform that straddles all CVS Caremark's business segments, capturing in-depth patient data for marketing and other purposes in violation of HIPAA patient privacy laws.

Four of the pharmacists in the suit also are on the Texas Pharmacy Business Council:

    * Buddy de la Rosa, RPh
    * Robert Kinsey, RPh
    * Mike Muecke, RPh
    * Bruce Rogers, RPh

The other two APRx board members standing up for pharmacy are Vance Oglesbee, RPh and Alton Kanak, RPh.

APRx and TPBC General Counsel Amanda Gohlke Fields has been working with Miguel Rodriguez and Donald Taylor of Taylor Dunham and Burgess, LLP, an Austin-based law firm, on this legal effort. The suit is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Victoria Division.

Amanda said "CVS Caremark traps patients and non-CVS retail pharmacies in a scheme to deny patient choice of pharmacy and to smother business competition."

Pretty much sums it all up, doesn't it?

More information is on a special APRx website page.

Stay tuned!

Richard E. Beck, RPh
Executive Director