The Attorney General’s Office settled a lawsuit with CVS Caremark over allegations the company was under reimbursing Oklahoma pharmacies.
While CVS Caremark did not admit to wrongdoing, the company will pay over $5 million to Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s office and agreed to certain reforms to avoid further litigation, according to the settlement first publicized Monday.
Reforms include reviewing pharmacy payment disputes against national cost benchmarks, responding to disputes within 10 days and working with the Attorney General’s Office to resolve additional complaints, according to a news release.
CVS Caremark is a pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, that works to negotiate prices between insurance companies, drug manufacturers and pharmacies. CVS Caremark operates under the parent company CVS Health.
“CVS Caremark cooperated fully to reach this settlement,” said Phillip Blando, a spokesperson for CVS Caremark, in a statement. “We are pleased to continue serving Oklahoma clients and their members to make prescription drugs more affordable.”
Drummond’s office said 75% of settlement will repay Oklahoma pharmacies for more than 68,000 under reimbursed prescriptions filled between January 2024 and August 2025, according to a news release. The Attorney General’s Office will notify eligible pharmacies.
“When your local pharmacy is paid pennies on the dollar, or even loses money filling your prescription, it can’t keep its doors open,” Drummond said in a statement. “This settlement puts millions of dollars back into Oklahoma pharmacies so they can continue serving their communities. We’re protecting your access to the prescriptions you need and the pharmacists you trust, especially in small towns where the local pharmacy is often the only option for health care.”
The last quarter of the settlement will support the Attorney General Office’s “continued oversight of PBMs.”
The settlement also covered the state’s investigation costs.
Drummond filed the lawsuit in January and had sought the censure, suspension or revocation of CVS Caremark’s licenses and an assessment of fines.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence.
