Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a proposed class action lawsuit alleging deceptive pricing practices tied to its Prescription Savings Club (PSC). Filed in 2018 by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 38 Health and Welfare Fund and individual consumers, the lawsuit claimed that Walgreens reported inflated "usual and customary" (U&C) prices to insurers, leading customers with private insurance, Medicare, or Medicaid to overpay for generic drugs. Plaintiffs argued that PSC prices, which offered discounts on over 500 generic medications to cash-paying customers, should have been reported as U&C prices on reimbursement claims. Walgreens introduced the PSC program in 2007, with annual fees for enrollment and tiered pricing as low as $5 for a 30-day supply.
The settlement comes without Walgreens admitting liability, as the company maintains that the claims are without merit. The plaintiffs accused Walgreens of operating a dual-pricing scheme, offering discounted PSC prices to uninsured customers while reporting higher prices to third-party payors. This discrepancy allegedly violated pricing standards, impacting insured customers. The lawsuit highlights broader concerns over transparency in drug pricing practices.
