UnitedHealth Inflated Drug Costs, Louisiana Attorney General Alleges in Suit
- Insurer used secret prices, byzantine supply chain, AG alleges
- Scrutiny of drug benefit managers’ business practices growing
UnitedHealth Group headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Photographer: Mike Bradley/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. was accused by Louisiana’s attorney general of inflating prescription drug charges in the state’s Medicaid program by billions of dollars.
UnitedHealth’s pharmacy benefits manager, Optum Rx, used secret prices and the complexity of the supply chain to cause the safety-net health program “to needlessly pay billions of dollars more per year for prescription drug benefits,” according to a lawsuit from Attorney General Jeff Landry. The action was filed April 13 in state court.