News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — Attorney General Todd Rokita has filed a new lawsuit against drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers for inflating insulin prices.

Approximately 640,435 Indiana residents have been diagnosed with diabetes and over 1.7 million people are prediabetic. It is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and lower limb amputations. It is the seventh leading cause of death in Indiana despite the availability of effective treatment, according to a news release.

“Diabetes is a public health crisis for Hoosiers,” Rokita said. “This is a serious condition that requires insulin, putting patients in the impossible position of choosing between health and financial security.”

The lawsuit filed by Rokita includes drug manufacturers Sanofi-Aventis and Novo Nordisk and pharmacy benefit managers CaremarkPCS Health, Express Scripts, CVS Health Corp. and Optum RX for allegedly conspiring to raise prices on insulin medications by more than 1000% in the last decade despite manufacturing costs decreasing.

“Too many Hoosiers have been forced to ration because drug manufacturers and PBMs have prioritized profits over patients,” said Rokita. “Hundreds of thousands of Indiana residents rely on these medications to stay alive and these prices discourage people to take care of their health.”

According to the complaint, every year, the direct medical expenses associated with diabetes care in Indiana are an estimated $5 billion. If everyone with diabetes could adhere to their medication protocol, more than $8.3 billion in direct medical costs would be saved annually.

“Our office hopes this case will also set a strong precedent for other pharmaceutical companies who want to take advantage of everyday Hoosiers,” Rokita said. “Families are suffering enough already with the economic decline. Targeting and scheming against those who have a medical condition like diabetes is absolutely unethical.”

Since Rokita took office, he has obtained a $66.5 million settlement against Centene for its failure to disclose true costs, won a $573 million multi-state settlement against McKinsey & Company for its role in “turbocharging” the opioid epidemic with Purdue Pharma and secured nearly $7 million in an Indiana Medicaid fraud settlement against Mallinckrodt.