A certified class action lawsuit has been filed against the nation's largest pharmaceutical distributor for allegedly entering into a secret agreement to artificially inflate the reported average wholesale price (AWP) of thousands of drugs. The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Boston on behalf of consumers and third-party payers.
The AWP is a benchmark used by Medicaid and insurance plans to determine payment to pharmacies. The class action represents millions of healthcare consumers who made co-payments on allegedly artificially inflated drug prices.
According to the complaint, beginning in late 2001, McKesson and First Databank, a publishing company, reached a secret agreement on how the AWP would be set for brand named drugs, and in doing so, raised the spread between the published AWP and the actual acquisition costs in an effort to increase profits. McKesson would communicate the price increases to First Databank, who then published the information, even amid questions by manufacturers who recognized the impact to consumers and third-party payers.
