UnitedHealth Sued On HIV Drug Policy
Just days after extracting a settlement from Anthem Blue Cross on the way it handled pharmacy orders for its patients with HIV, Consumer Watchdog has filed an almost identical lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and a California-based subsidiary.
The suit, filed by the Santa Monica-based consumer advocacy group in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claims the Minnesota-based UnitedHealth and its subsidiary, PacifiCare, is endangering its HIV-positive enrollees by compelling them to enroll in a mail-order program to receive their anti-retroviral medications that is used to keep the condition in check.
As with the Anthem Blue Cross suit, Consumer Watchdog says the shift over to mail order cuts pharmacists out of the loop who may have been supervising each enrollee's medication for years, putting them at risk for potentially life-threatening drug interactions. Mail-related glitches could also delay deliveries of medications, the organization claims.
“United's decision to force their most vulnerable members into a pharmacy program not of their choosing is harmful to the very people United is supposed to be protecting,” said Consumer Watchdog staff attorney Jerry Flanagan. “Patients, not insurers, should be allowed to decide how, when and where they buy their medications.”
Additionally, the suit claims that patient privacy is at risk, since the contents of the mailed packages may be spotted by neighbors or co-workers.
As a result, the new program is violating California and federal civil rights laws.
The suit is seeking class-action status. Along with Consumer Watchdog, the matter is being litigated by the Whatley Kallas law firm in New York City.
Consumer Watchdog sued Anthem in state court in San Diego County in January, making claims similar to those filed against United Health and PacifiCare. Anthem settled the case late last month, agreeing to making the mail order drug prescription program optional for its enrollees with HIV.
Consumer Watchdog is among the state’s most aggressive advocacy groups. In 2009, it lobbied Gov. Jerry Brown to investigate whether UnitedHealth had pressured employees to engage in political activism to help the insurer receive breaks in the pending healthcare reform law.
