WKYC: Cleveland becomes 'first city in the country to file a lawsuit' accusing drugmakers, pharmacies of colluding to fix price of insulin

Tyler Carey, WKYC

CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland announced Monday it has filed a lawsuit against various drugmakers, pharmacies, and pharmacy benefit managers for allegedly colluding to fix the prices of insulin.

Touting themselves as "the first city in the country to file a lawsuit of this nature against the defendants," officials claim the manufacturers and PBMs specifically "orchestrated a pricing scheme that resulted in skyrocketing insulin prices and cost the city millions of dollars in prescription benefit payouts." According to the complaint, prices currently range between $300 and $700 per insulin vile, up from around $20 in the 1990s.

"The Manufacturer Defendants have in tandem increased the prices of their insulins up to 1000%," the filing read, "even though production costs decreased during that period."

Cleveland Chief Trial Counsel Elena Boop and Chief Assistant Law Director Amy Hough will represent the city in the case, which was filed in U.S. District Court. Officials noted how this is a "personal" matter for both of them, as Hough has suffered Type 1 diabetes since the age of 7 and Bloop's daughter deals with the same ailment, with the prices of insulin "effectively destroy[ing] Elena's small business."

The exorbitant costs of insulin have become a major political talking point in recent years, with U.S. President Joe Biden pushing for legislation capping the price at $35 per month. Congress approved such reductions for Medicare patients and several companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk (both named in Cleveland's lawsuit) have moved to slash their own prices, but some loopholes remain.

"Diabetics need insulin to stay alive," the city wrote in a statement. "The defendants exploit this reality to guarantee their price-fixing scheme, making insulin unaffordable to individuals and resulting in exorbitant costs for prescription benefit sponsors like the City of Cleveland."

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