WALGREENS and CVS, the two largest pharmacy groups in the USA, are facing class action lawsuits which allege they illegally inflated the price of generic drugs.
In both of the cases the retail giants are accused of not making patients aware that co-payments for the medications under their health insurance were actually higher than simply purchasing the medications outright.
In the US pharmacies use 'pharmacy benefit managers' to determine how much common drugs will cost for patients covered by different health insurers.
The lead plaintiff in the CVS lawsuit, Megan Schultz, paid $165.68 for a prescription that would have only cost her $92 out of pocket.
In the Walgreens case a patient paid $22 for a drug which would have cost $10 in cash.
Walgreens issued a statement saying "the complain lacks merit and we will vigorously defend against the allegations," according to news service Bloomberg.
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