Oceanside's case joins scores of others, including those brought by several states, that allege ballooning insulin prices have caused them to overpay by hundreds of millions of dollarsThe attorney representing Oceanside Unified School District announced on Wednesday that it was suing three drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers for collusion in hiking up insulin costs.Oceanside Unified School District is one of more than 200 school districts joining in the lawsuit nationwide.
The 200-page complaint alleges that pharmacy benefit managers would secure billions of dollars in rebates from drug companies, and, in exchange, they would include their insulin products on the ist of approved drugs, known as formularies.“Every cost that they pay for a drug is extremely important because the higher the cost of the drug, the more they pay and the less money they have in their budget for other things like education, the school, the children and the teachers,” Frantz said.
“Throughout our investigation, we’ve learned about people that could not afford insulin, could not afford the $1,100 a vial, and they didn’t take it and they died,” Frantz said.