Thirteen Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) carriers are suing CVS Health over the prices it charges for some generic drugs in its $4 drug program. The insurance carriers claim that CVS improperly manipulated the “usual and customary prices” of those drugs. The carriers initially filed five separate suits in 2020 that were eventually consolidated in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island.
As the case progresses, U.S. District Chief Judge John McConnell Jr. issued rulings on proposed testimony from five witnesses that the parties may offer as evidence at trial. McConnell allowed CVS to retain the testimony of two witnesses whom BCBS opposed and allowed BCBS to retain the testimony of two witnesses whom CVS opposed. The judge will also permit testimony by BCBS’s proposed witness, Dr. Adam Block, but with limitations; Block cannot testify about legal opinions on what federal laws and regulations require of pharmacies.
