Insulin is an essential drug for many people who are diagnosed with diabetes. Many diabetics are insulin dependent, and once a patient begins taking insulin, most will remain on the drug for the rest of their lives. Since 2003, the price of insulin increased more than 1000 percent, far outstripping inflation. The reason for the high price appears to be intentional price manipulation by the manufacturers and the companies that negotiate drug prices for health insurance plans.
Law firms across the country are filing insulin overpricing lawsuits on behalf of self-funded health plans, their members, and beneficiaries. The lawsuits are seeking reimbursement of the excess cost of the drug and guarantees that future pricing will be in line with the cost of producing insulin. Our practiced mass tort attorneys could help you understand your options for filing a lawsuit.
Pharmaceutical companies often justify the high price of their products by citing the cost of research and development and navigating the regulatory process. But insulin is an older drug, and the companies spend relatively little money in support of it. However, the price of insulin is many times higher in the U.S. than in other countries.
The people bringing the overpriced insulin lawsuits allege that the high price of insulin is due to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and insulin manufacturers working together to unjustifiably inflate the price of the drug. PBMs are businesses that administer prescription drug benefits for health insurers. Three PBMs dominate the market in the U.S.: CBS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OPTUMRx. Similarly, three insulin manufacturers have almost all the market share for the drug in the U.S. The manufacturers are Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi. The overpricing lawsuits target all these companies, and a well-versed attorney could help a person filing a lawsuit understand their options for maximizing the amount of money they could receive.
Local injury attorneys are working with law firms across the country to seek justice for people who paid too much for insulin. They are representing self-funded health insurance plans, their owners, members, and beneficiaries in legal action against the insulin manufacturers.
Counties, municipalities, and other government entities are joining the lawsuits. Attorneys General of several states are also joining the lawsuits to recoup money that their state-funded insurance programs overpaid. The lawsuits are seeking reimbursement of the funds the manufacturers collected through illegal collusion and price-gouging. People could also seek future relief by limiting the amount the companies could charge for insulin going forward, and punitive damages to punish the defendants for their wrongdoing.
In 2023, Eli Lilly agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle some of the lawsuits and agreed to cap its insulin pricing at $35 for the next five years. However, many lawsuits are still pending against all the defendants, including Eli Lilly. Because these individual lawsuits raise the same claims against the defendants, they were consolidated into multidistrict litigation overseen by one federal judge. This procedure is sometimes called a mass tort action.
In mass tort litigation, the parties choose a few bellwether cases to take to trial. The results of the bellwether cases provide the defendants with valuable information about whether the cases can be defended successfully. In many cases, the defendants choose to settle with all the plaintiffs, or people bringing a lawsuit, once there have been a few verdicts in bellwether cases. As of early 2024, no bellwether cases in the insulin overpricing mass tort had been tried yet.
People who believe they were subject to insulin overpricing can still join the multidistrict litigation. Our local injury law firm is seeking new cases and collaborating with other firms nationwide to move these cases forward. There is a limited time to act, so it is critical to consult a legal professional to determine eligibility as quickly as possible.
Drug companies that make millions or even billions in profits every year cannot get away with artificially inflating the cost of a critical drug like insulin. The mass tort proceeding is currently underway and can make the companies pay for their wrongdoing, ensure the people who paid too much get their money back, and guarantee insulin is priced reasonably in the future.
Contact the law firm of Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin about joining the insulin overpricing lawsuit. There is a limited time to act, so reach out today for an initial consultation.
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