Optum Rx Invokes Open Meetings Law To Fight Kentucky Counties On Opioid Suits

UnitedHealth Group's multibillion-dollar drugstore use manager, Optum Rx, is suing 5 Kentucky counties successful an effort to unit them retired of nationalist opioid litigation against nan company.

Pharmacy use managers, often called PBMs, enactment arsenic middlemen that discuss medicine supplier prices betwixt supplier companies, security plans, and pharmacies. Some lawyers and advocates opportunity PBMs helped substance nan overdose situation by failing to restrict nan travel of opioid prescriptions.

As governments statesman exploring imaginable lawsuits against PBMs — a measurement that could correspond nan adjacent activity successful opioid-related litigation — Optum Rx is attempting to unopen down those efforts, successful immoderate cases earlier they moreover afloat return shape.

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In June, Optum Rx sued Anderson, Boyd, Christian, Nicholas, and Oldham counties successful Kentucky for allegedly making decisions astir participating successful nan caller activity of nationalist opioid lawsuits down closed doors, violating Kentucky's unfastened meetings law. Optum Rx is asking courts to efficaciously unit those counties to make their decisions again, this clip successful unfastened meetings, perchance pinch nan dream that immoderate won't fuss because of nan administrative burden. The consequence could beryllium less claims against nan institution and perchance little money for it to salary successful a early settlement.

But ineligible experts telephone Optum's lawsuit "hypertechnical" and "frivolous," and addiction betterment advocates opportunity it could group a vulnerable precedent for companies to evade accountability for their domiciled successful fueling nan overdose crisis.

Christine Minhee, an attorney, a nationalist master connected opioid litigation, and laminitis of OpioidSettlementTracker.com, said Optum's suit reminded her of an adage among lawyers: "If nan facts are connected your side, lb nan facts. If nan rule is connected your side, lb nan law. If neither is connected your side, lb nan table."

"Right now, what we're seeing is it pounding nan table," Minhee said of Optum Rx. The institution is "desperately" trying "to find immoderate benignant of foothold" to get cases against it thrown out.

Minhee said these suits fresh a shape of Optum Rx utilizing bladed arguments to effort to hold aliases evade opioid litigation nationwide.

Last year, Optum Rx, on pinch different PBM, asked a judge to propulsion retired an opioid suit revenge by Los Angeles County, claiming during a December proceeding that nan region hadn't shown harm. The judge appeared skeptical of nan claims and yet rejected nan companies' request.

In April, nan aforesaid companies tried to oust a national judge overseeing nationalist opioid litigation, claiming he was biased. Their statement was based partially connected a Florida lawyer's having said nan judge was "plaintiff-oriented." Their effort failed.

Now, Optum Rx is moving to support 5 Kentucky counties retired of that aforesaid sweeping opioid litigation.

That nationalist ineligible undertaking began much than 7 years ago, arsenic jurisdictions saw overdose deaths climb. Many group who had go addicted to medicine painkillers were trim disconnected by their doctors, and immoderate transitioned to utilizing deadlier heroin aliases fentanyl. Health attraction and nationalist information costs skyrocketed. Thousands of cities, counties, and states began suing wellness attraction companies for allegedly creating a nationalist nuisance by aggressively trading medicine painkillers and negligently distributing them.

Those cases were lassoed together into nan elephantine multidistrict litigation, which has resulted successful monolithic settlements. The first fewer waves of settlements progressive opioid manufacturers, distributors, and unit pharmacies, pinch companies specified arsenic Johnson & Johnson, CVS, and Walgreens agreeing to salary authorities and section governments billions of dollars. The money is meant to beryllium utilized for addiction curen and prevention services — though its rollout has been controversial.

To adhd a caller information of companies arsenic defendants, jurisdictions must undertake a multistep process, said Peter Mougey, a Florida-based lawyer who represents galore section governments successful nan monolithic nationalist litigation. The 5 Kentucky counties successful mobility were successful nan early stages of that process, only having asked nan judge to amend their complaint, he said. They hadn't added Optum Rx yet.

If Optum Rx's suits are successful, those counties would person nan action of redoing nan first steps of nan process successful a nationalist meeting, past continuing to adhd Optum Rx arsenic a defendant, Mougey explained. The institution whitethorn dream that immoderate counties won't undertake nan other administrative effort.

Optum Rx's "goal is intelligibly conscionable to deterioration down and tyre retired these mini counties," Mougey said. "They're trying to person a chilling effect connected nan litigation."

It's not clear why Optum Rx targeted those 5 counties retired of nan galore localities undertaking nan process to adhd nan institution arsenic a defendant. The Kentucky counties scope from having less than 8,000 residents (Nicholas) to much than 70,000 (Christian). One is among nan richest successful Kentucky (Oldham), while others are poorer. Boyd County, successful Appalachia, is 1 of nan hardest hit, pinch a caller overdose complaint doubly nan authorities average.

Optum Rx, successful its filing against Boyd County, which was akin to claims against nan different counties, said section authorities had taken charismatic ineligible action by asking nan judge to make a alteration successful its case. The suit said specified action must beryllium done successful a nationalist gathering and that nan region did not clasp one.

Optum spokesperson Isaac Sorensen told KFF Health News that nan company’s statement is not astir "a technicality."

It is "an important ineligible request designed to guarantee accountability and transparency earlier a region takes ineligible action," said nan connection Sorensen provided. "We person recovered galore counties ignored this requirement, alongside their work to sphere applicable evidence, and Optum Rx will take sides against these improper ineligible actions."

The 5 Kentucky counties disagree pinch these assertions, according to tribunal records. As of precocious July, each 5 had revenge motions to disregard Optum Rx's claim.

Boyd County, for illustration nan others, based on successful its mobility to disregard that asking a judge to amend its title was a routine, procedural measurement that did not require a nationalist meeting. Optum Rx jumped nan gun, nan region argued, filing a lawsuit earlier immoderate last action had been taken.

"No amended title has been filed. No caller defendant, OptumRx included, has been added. No caller suit has been initiated," Boyd County's consequence said.

The region besides pointed retired that it held an unfastened gathering successful 2017 that kicked disconnected its engagement successful nan nationalist litigation and authorized early amendments to that litigation.

Hearings connected nan counties' motions to disregard Optum Rx's suits are group for precocious August and early September, according to tribunal records.

These cases are shaping up to beryllium a Goliath-versus-David ineligible action. Although Oldham County is nan wealthiest of nan Kentucky counties that Optum Rx sued, its astir caller fund is little than 0.1% of Optum Rx's yearly revenue, which nan institution reported arsenic exceeding $133 cardinal successful 2024.

Oldham County Attorney D. Berry Baxter told KFF Health News he'd seen nan effect of nan opioid pandemic arsenic a charismatic moving connected a increasing number of drug-related cases complete nan years. Now, arsenic colony money is arriving from different companies, it has funded accrued addiction curen successful section jails. More colony money from further companies could grow specified services, Baxter said.

If Optum Rx succeeds successful kicking Kentucky counties retired of nan nationalist litigation, it would group "a really horrific precedent" for different PBMs and wellness attraction companies to do thing similar, said Tara Hyde, CEO of nan statewide nonprofit People Advocating Recovery.

Hyde said she's been successful betterment for much than a decade from an addiction that began pinch medicine painkillers for a surgery leg. She wants to spot PBMs and different companies held accountable and made to alteration their processes to forestall early crises.

Despite a caller alteration successful overdose deaths nationwide, Hyde said group successful her state, their families, and nan system are still hurting.

"Recovery doesn't conscionable hap overnight," she said. "Without these dollars that person been a nonstop consequence of group being misled, mistreated, and taken advantage of, we will still beryllium detrimentally impacted."