Keller Rohrback Files Class Action Lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and OptumRx
November 29, 2016
The attorneys at Keller Rohrback filed a class action complaint against UnitedHealth and OptumRx, as well as several of their affiliates. The lawsuit, filed on November 15, 2016, seeks to recover monetary damages and other relief on behalf of consumers who overpaid and continue to overpay for their prescription medications at the pharmacy counter.
The complaint alleges that instead of reducing consumer costs, UnitedHealthcare and OptumRx—which runs pharmacy benefits coverage for thousands of health insurance plans across the country—actually increase prescription costs through a billing scheme known as a “clawback.” A clawback occurs when the drug’s retail cost, or the price you would pay without insurance, is less than the stated price in the health plan or insurance policy. For example, without health coverage, a drug may retail for $5.00 at a local pharmacy, but with insurance, the patient may be forced to pay a $20.00 “copayment” or “coinsurance” for the same drug. OptumRx then “claws back” the $15.00 difference from the pharmacy.
Patients generally have no idea this unfair practice is going on. UnitedHealth and OptumRx have hidden their “clawbacks” from consumers by drafting contracts that specifically prohibit pharmacists from disclosing the true cost of the drugs, even if the consumer asks. In some cases the overcharges are so egregious that consumers may be affected regardless of whether they pay a copay or coinsurance, or even the full cost of the medication. Please visit our resource center for more information.
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is seeking to stop the unlawful and deceptive practice of overcharging consumers for life-saving medications. If you have a Cigna, Humana, or UnitedHealth plan through your employer, the ACA exchange, or Medicare, you may have been subject to unlawful “clawbacks.” To learn more about your rights, please call 800.776.6044 or email [email protected].
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. has decades of experience helping consumers and insureds fight back against fraud and abuse. Keller Rohrback L.L.P. serves as lead and co-lead counsel in class action lawsuits throughout the country. With offices in New York, Seattle, Phoenix, Ronan, Oakland, and Santa Barbara, our Complex Litigation Group is proud to offer its expertise to clients nationwide. Our trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of eighteen billion dollars.