California latest to sue drug companies over insulin prices

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California on Thursday announced it will sue the companies that make and promote most of the nation's insulin, accusing them of scheming to illegally increase the price of the drug and demanding they return millions of dollars to some diabetics who state officials say were overcharged for the medicine they must have to survive.

The lawsuit, to be filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Attorney General Rob Bonta, is the latest in a parade of legal actions against these companies from states across the political spectrum — all who have accused the corporate giants of abusing their power to quash competition and boost their profits by keeping the price of insulin high.

A 2021 study by the RAND Corporation comparing the insulin prices of nearly three dozen countries found prices in the United States were about 10 times higher than everywhere else. The average price of a vial of insulin in the United States was $98, while in nearby Canada it was $12.

Attorneys general in Kansas, Arkansas,Mississippi,Minnesota and Kentucky have all filed similar lawsuits in recent years.

“It is not a partisan issue,” said Bonta, a Democrat who was elected to his first full term in November. Bonta said state attorneys general from both major political parties “all say the same thing: That the status quo is unacceptable and problematic and awful.”

Bonta sued three companies who make insulin — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi — and three companies who manage prescription drug programs that provide insulin — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx.

Bonta said the manufacturers raise the price of insulin “in lockstep with each other.” The prescription drug managers then negotiate with the manufacturers to get a percentage of that price in exchange for prominently promoting their...