The Schenectady County Legislature unanimously passed a resolution that allows the County to enter into a lawsuit against various manufacturers of insulin and other diabetic medication, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and their executives.
The resolution authorizes the County to enter into a Legal Services Contract with Napoli Shkolnik, PLLC to pursue litigation against Eli Lilly, Norvo Nordisk, and Sanofi-Aventis and other defendants for conspiring to artificially inflate the cost of insulin. The County will incur no up-front costs in pursuing this action, and all fees and costs would come solely from any monetary award made from either a settlement or from a positive verdict.
“We’ve been diligently working to reduce employee healthcare costs by implementing the nation’s longest continuous Canadian prescription drug program, saving taxpayers millions over the past two decades,” said Anthony Jasenski, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “We’re committed to seeking justice and reclaiming taxpayer funds by pursuing legal action against big pharmaceutical companies responsible for artificially inflating insulin prices.”
Prescription Drug Savings
Since 2005, Schenectady County has instituted several cost-saving measures to its employee prescription drug plans, including the County’s landmark Canadian prescription drug program. In 2005, the County expended $4,885,263 on its prescription drugs. In 2022 the County spent $4,480,672, an over eight percent decrease from the first year. Nationally, during the same timeframe prescription drug costs increased approximately 53 percent[1], while Schenectady County’s costs decreased by over eight percent.
This program, along with incentivizing mail order prescriptions, and offering co-pay assistance on specialty prescription drugs, has saved taxpayers approximately $27 million since 2005.
[1] https://www.in2013dollars.com/prescription-drugs/price-inflation