Attorney General Lynn Fitch issued the following statement Thursday.
Today, Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a lawsuit at the Chancery Court of Hinds County against drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) that contributed to the worst man-made epidemic in modern medical history – the misuse, abuse, diversion, and over-prescription of opioids. “In Mississippi, we have seen this epidemic tear apart our families and communities. The opioid epidemic has killed so many of our loved ones,” said Attorney General Lynn Fitch. “I will continue to hold these companies accountable for the role that they have played in destroying so many lives through their unfair, deceptive practices so that our state can heal from this crisis and guard against it ever happening again.” Today’s filing describes how the PBMs’ “role in stoking the opioid epidemic has been, until recently, largely concealed from public scrutiny. It has now become clear that the [PBMs] have, for at least the last two decades, had a central role in facilitating the oversupply of opioids through conduct that has the intended purpose of ignoring the necessary safeguards for purposes of increasing the prescribing, dispensing and sales of prescription opioids. These [PBMs] intentionally inserted themselves into the chain of distribution and dispensing of prescription opioids thereby assuming duties to act reasonably.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from 1999 through 2021, opioid overdoses killed nearly 645,000 Americans. In 2022, Mississippi had the fourth-highest opioid prescribing rate in the nation with 64 opioids being dispersed for every 100 Mississippians, almost twofold greater than the U.S. average. Over the past several years, the Attorney General’s Office has entered into settlements with more than a dozen companies that played a part in creating and amplifying the opioid crisis. These include manufacturers, distributors, pharmacy chains, and even companies that created the marketing plans that fed the epidemic. In total, these lawsuits will bring over $367 million over eighteen years to Mississippi. Attorney General Fitch has proposed a plan to the Legislature for using these funds to meet abatement requirements in the settlement agreements, help Mississippi repair the damage from opioids, and mitigate future damage with prevention, treatment, and education. Today’s lawsuit names as Defendants Optum, Inc., OptumRx, Inc.; OptumInsight Life Sciences, Inc; OptumInsight, Inc.; UnitedHealth Group, Inc.; The Lewin Group, Inc.; Evernorth Health, Inc.; Express Scripts, Inc.; Express Scripts Administrators, LLC; ESI Mail Pharmacy Service, Inc.; Express Scripts Pharmacy, Inc.; Express Scripts Specialty Distribution Services, Inc.; and Medco Health Solutions, Inc. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a report on PBMs, detailing the influence of these companies on the prescription drug market in the United States. The report notes that, “[t]he top three PBMs processed nearly 80 percent of the approximately 6.6 billion prescriptions dispensed by U.S. pharmacies in 2023,...” This includes defendants in the AGO lawsuit.
30 comments:
I wonder how long it takes for this to get transferred to circuit court, and whether that happens before it gets removed to federal court.
After taking on China she is feeling pretty confident. Any bets that these moving papers were copied from a suit in another state?
as if it already wasn't hard enough to get opioids after having surgery, this will make it worse.
Now show some real guts and prosecute Dean Scott and the former mayor of Richland for stealing from the taxpayers with their no show jobs with the Rankin County Tax Assessor. Remember, Shad handed it over to the Rankin County DA, who then like a coward handed it over to the Attorney General’s office, all in order to bury the case.
The Rankin County political machine is powerful so let’s see if she has the courage to take them on.
Another money grab for whatever law firm she allowed to file this. Follow the $ - the lawyers always win.
Duh! There are very few original thinkers in Mississippi politics.
No one in my family takes Opioids! We just refrain from drugs of that type and smoke only hash and marijuana!
"Any bets that these moving papers were copied from a suit in another state?"
Arkansas, Vermont, Kentucky, Ohio, and California, at least, have filed similar suits involving at least some of the same Defendants.
"Another money grab for whatever law firm she allowed to file this."
Look at the bottom of the attached filing.
Years and years of a trial lawyer AG. We finally get a "Republican" AG that caters to trial lawyers.
to 3:28 - before you start praising Shad, note that his office, not the AG's, prosecuted the small fish in counties other than Rankin. Where is Shad when you need him most?
The cowboy commissioner, Andy Gipson is apparently getting too much publicity recently. Lynn's got to keep herself relevant.
Follow the money is correct!! Lynn will milk them to fund her gov campaign.
It’s not the pharmaceutical company’s fault. The doctor prescribed it. The eventual settlement will make our drug prices rise to cover it. The lawyers make yes of millions of dollars, if not more,the state government makes millions and the victim get $8.42. It’s all a scam.
Roe Fraziers old partner John Davidson who contributed mightily to Fitch ….seems it’s gonna pay him off
Medication is cancer. Doctors are not here to help you. Stop eating crap, start exercising, abandon big pharma.
@6:22
Shad can't prosecute anyone. The auditor's office investigates and, if they find a crime, pass the information to the appropriate DA or the AG. Unless something has changed since Phil was Auditor, they only investigate AFTER someone has called in a complaint.
Also, the Auditor's office only investigates white collar crime associated with public agencies and public officials. The opiate related lawsuits/money grabs do not involve missing public money.
8:56 Exercise does not prevent root canals and injury. In fact, many orthopedic and other procedures are necessary to correct injuries from these activities. My point being these medications and other pain meds are something you want available during recovery from any significant surgery. Advil and Tylenol ain't gonna get it when your knee or shoulder is ripped open. Plus, these doctors are all scared shitless to prescribe anything anymore, because all of this bullshit litigation.
Physicians take kickbacks from big pharma to encourage them to write Rx for specific drugs. Big pharma employ hundreds of babes to visit their offices, take them to lunch/dinner, etc. https://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/
So we should let corporate bad actors keep doing their thing, because the things we can actually do about don’t meet your idea of fairness?
The next time you get sick, go pick up some rattlesnakes. That’ll fix you right up.
10:48 is right .....drug reps are always hottie pototties
9:54 - I have no idea if 6:22 is correct or not, however as reported by the Fish and verified on Shad's Facebook page, Shad is taking credit for his Special Agents arresting Megan Berry, former Caledonia Park Commission (CPC) Treasurer, on one count of embezzlement. So we know his office can make arrests.
Interesting that Prime Therapeutics, one of the largest PBMs in the country, wasn’t named in the lawsuit. But of course that being the PBM for BCBS MS would interfere with Fitch’s fundraising.
this litigation has been going on for years. its just another example of fitch jumping on the band wagon once the heavy lifting has already been done. that's why she got to have outside private practice counsel davidson along with he cause she aint got a clue about anything.
this is one of the most lamb things she has done since her political fundraiser down at the shooting preserve in south mississippi where her and
her doners shot clipped winged , domesticated, tame ,bobwhite quail using their custom made $20,000 shotguns.
if fitch wants to help consumers she needs to rein in the amounts of money that consumers are forced to hand over to the home and auto insurance companies .
those companies are the modern day equivalent to the 5 sicilian mafia family outfits. but she is chicken shit to lift a finger towards them.
Drug manufacturers don't see patients or prescribe medication.
Will she sue gasoline refineries on behalf of those killed in automobile crashes?
While we recognize that she's running for governor, it's also known that we've had idiots in that position before.
Are we going to refund the Health Care Trust Fund from the 90s that both Democrats and Republicans exhausted with stupidity? Imagine if we had actually been good stewards of that. We could actually be doing something meaningful in our state in healthcare and driving biotech innovation and economic development. Look at Huntsville.
Here's a question for all who would defend or support Fitch, highsteppin' folks and lesser mere mortals:
For the highsteppers, would you hire Fitch - her, not her staff - as lead for "bet the company" litigation? And for potential co-counsel, would you bet your bar card, or at least risk a very public benchslapping, on her legal ability? And for mere mortals, would you hire her for anything at all, and if so, what?
HOWEVER - same questions as to the Shadster.
There is a reason serious cases bring in outside counsel, and no, conflict or appearance thereof ain't it 99.99% of the time. True enough, you want a line cook who knows home cookin' but you don't want to fuck up the restaurant by making them head chef, either.
to 3:45..........ive noticed that the are no denials to you accusations of gouging on insurance premiums. in the legal world this called an admission by silence. ONE LAST CHANCE. ANY DENIALS MR INSURANCE INDUSTRY?
Great, another massive lawsuit that will end up awarding the money to the wrong people and the money never being spent on helping addictions or addicts. Just like the tobacco lawsuit back in 1994. $4Billion rewarded and did it help smokers - NO. Now they will get Billions and not use it to help the reasoning behind the lawsuit. I wish someone would pass a law in cases like this, if won, a 3rd party counsel of at least 5 people (that do not know each other) are order to oversee the spending of the award settlement and makes sure the money is spent helping and preventing the cause of the lawsuit instead of just pocketing and moving it from one department to another department.
Post a Comment