Louisiana AG investigating CVS for sending mass text messages lobbying against legislation
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Thursday she is investigating whether pharmaceutical giant CVS improperly used customers' personal information to send out text messages lobbying against a proposed state law.
Murrill also said she plans to issue a cease-and-desist letter to the company to stop the messages.
As lawmakers debated a now-failed bill on Wednesday they held up screenshots of text messages sent by CVS.
'Last minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close your CVS Pharmacy — your medication cost may go up and your pharmacist may lose their job,' one such text, obtained by The Associated Press, read.
Bill would have banned ownership of both drug stores and pharmacy benefit managers
The proposed legislation would have prohibited companies from owning both pharmacy benefit managers and drug stores.
The CVS Health Corporation owns retail pharmacies as well as CVS Caremark, one the country's top three pharmacy benefit managers with a market share of more than 100 million members. CVS Caremark and other managers serve as middlemen purchasing prescription drugs from manufacturers and setting the terms for how they are distributed to customers.
'These powerful middlemen may be profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies,' a 2024 Federal Trade Commission report warned.
CVS says on its website that it 'negotiates lower costs for our customers and expands coverage to affordable medications that people need to stay healthy.'
CVS texts included a draft letter opposing the bill
The company's text messages to Louisiana residents included a link to a draft letter urging lawmakers to oppose the legislation that someone could sign with their email address and send to legislators.
'The proposed legislation would take away my and other Louisiana patients' ability to get our medications shipped right to our homes,' the letter read. 'They would also ban the pharmacies that serve patients suffering from complex diseases requiring specialty pharmacy care to manage their life-threatening conditions like organ transplants or cancer. These vulnerable patients cannot afford any disruption to their care – the consequences would be dire.'
Rep. Dixon McMakin pointed to some of the messages from CVS, saying they were misleading and false. He specifically pointed to ads, that people reported seeing on social media, alleging that lawmakers 'may shut down every CVS pharmacy in the state.'
'No we're not, you liars. Quit being liars. Quit using scare tactics,' McMakin said.
A GOP lawmaker received one of the texts
Republican Rep. Bryan Fontenot held up his phone, showing that he, too, had received a text message from CVS.
'It's in the same text thread (used) to notify when my prescription is filled,' he said. 'They've now taken that to send me political texts.'
CVS sent messages to 'large numbers" of state employees and their families to lobby against proposed legislation involving the company's pharmaceutical benefits manager, Murrill said in an X post.
Customers gave CVS their phone numbers to receive pharmaceutical information such as vaccine availability or prescription pick-ups but the company is using this personal information 'for their own personal corporate interests against pending legislation,' Murrill told reporters. 'That's not why anybody gave them their phone number.'
Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS, said the texts were the result of a last-minute amendment to the bill Wednesday without an opportunity for a public hearing.
The amendment was crafted behind closed-doors by a conference committee — a regular practice utilized in the statehouse when the House and Senate cannot agree on final versions of a bill.
'We believe we have a responsibility to inform our customers of misguided legislation that seeks to shutter their trusted pharmacy, and we acted accordingly,' Thibault said in an email. 'Our communication with our customers, patients and members of our community is consistent with law.'
Landry says he may call special session
The bill, which proponents said would bolster independent pharmacies and reduce the cost of prescription medications, received overwhelming approval in the House, with a vote of 88-4.
Among those who voted against the measure was Rep. Mandie Landry. The Democrat said that while she wanted to vote in favor, but she was receiving messages from people in her district urging her not to. She said CVS's lobbying had reached them and as a result they feared that they wouldn't be able to access their medications.
'CVS … you should be so ashamed of this. You are scaring people,' Landry said.
The bill ultimately died with the Senate opting not to take it up in the final hour of the 2025 session.
Landry said he plans to call a special session in hopes of passing similar legislation.
'Yes we will have a special to lower prescription drugs for our citizens," Landry said a statement. "It's that important.'
Brook reported from New Orleans.
___
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