Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has launched an investigation into CVS, probing whether or not the company has been improperly using its customers’ personal information to send text messages lobbying against a state law.
She said she also plans to issue the company a cease-and-desist letter to halt the texts, according to ABC News.
Lawmakers debating the failed bill at the center of the controversy shared images of CVS's texts during a hearing on Wednesday.
“Last minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close your CVS Pharmacy — your medication cost may go up and your pharmacist may lose their job,” one text said, according to the Associated Press.
The bill would have prohibited companies from owning both pharmacy benefit managers and drug stores.
CVS owns retail pharmacies as well as CVS Caremark, which is one of the nation's top three pharmacy benefit managers, meaning the law would have directly affected its business.
CVS Caremark and other pharmacy managers essentially act as middlemen by purchasing prescription drugs from manufacturers and determining the terms for how those drugs are distributed to customers.
In 2024, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report saying that the managers "may be profiting by inflating drug costs and squeezing Main Street pharmacies."
In Louisiana, CVS's text messages included links to a draft letter asking lawmakers to reject the legislation.
“The proposed legislation would take away my and other Louisiana patients’ ability to get our medications shipped right to our homes,” the letter read. “They would also ban the pharmacies that serve patients suffering from complex diseases requiring specialty pharmacy care to manage their life-threatening conditions like organ transplants or cancer. These vulnerable patients cannot afford any disruption to their care – the consequences would be dire.”
State Representative Dixon McMakin said CVS was "lying" and using "scare tactics" to oppose the legislation.
CVS reportedly sent "large numbers" of texts to state employees and their families to lobby against the legislation, according to Murrill in her statement.
Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS, provided the Independent with the following statement:
“Louisiana’s HB 358 came together Wednesday with no public hearing. We believe we had a responsibility to inform our customers of misguided legislation that sought to shutter their trusted pharmacy, and we acted accordingly. Our communication with our customers, patients and members of our community was consistent with law.
Our focus remains on serving the people of Louisiana: lowering drug costs, providing access to care, and helping improve health. We look forward to working productively with policymakers to continue to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible and to promote the value of community pharmacy.”
The bill failed to pass the state Senate, which decided not to take it up for the 2025 session.
