By Esteban Fernandez, Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT — CVS Caremark owes the State of West Virginia $1.4 million in civil penalties after the state’s insurance commissioner found it violated state code.
The $1.4 million fine is based on 2,871 violations, with each fine assessed at $500. The commissioner found that CVS Caremark was contravening laws that are meant to rein in Pharmacy Benefit Managers like Caremark.
“[The commissioner] went in and they found thousands of instances where [CVS Caremark] didn’t follow the rules,” said George Huntley, CEO of the Lexington, Ky.-based advocacy nonprofit Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition and Diabetes Leadership Council. “The law is clear, the rules are relatively clear, but they did not follow the rules. The thing is, when you see an audit with this kind of egregious findings, the thing is you know there’s more.”
