Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway issued a cease‑and‑desist letter to Eli Lilly Monday over conditions the company places on hospitals’ access to drug discounts.
Ms. Hanaway alleged the drug manufacturer imposed “unlawful conditions” on Missouri hospitals participating in the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program, which requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs at reduced prices to eligible health care organizations and safety-net hospitals.
The company implemented a policy change this year requiring 340B hospitals to submit detailed claims for every dispensed product, which Ms. Hanaway said violates the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
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The 340B statute required participating drug manufacturers to offer covered outpatient drugs to eligible health care organizations at a price that does not exceed the statutory ceiling price.
Ms. Hanaway said the company “has broken these promises” by not offering its products at the requisite 340B ceiling price to all covered entities.
“Instead, it has cut off those that do not comply with Lilly’s extra-legal data demands,” she said in the letter to the company. “Lilly’s representations regarding the availability of discounted pricing for covered entities are false and misleading to Missouri’s consumers.”
University of Missouri Health Care refused to comply, so Eli Lilly suspended 340B pricing for the system in July, according to the attorney general’s office.
This prompted MU Health Care to temporarily submit the data while reserving its legal rights.
The hospital now bears the “heavy and unnecessary cost of complying with a policy that violates both federal intent and Missouri law,” according to the attorney general’s office.
By denying the hospital 340B pricing, the company is “abusing its market power to impose unfair commercial practices on covered entities in Missouri,” Ms. Hanaway wrote in the letter.
“Big Pharma does not get to bully Missouri hospitals or hold prescription drug prices hostage,” she said in a statement. “Eli Lilly is abusing its market power to impose higher prescription prices in Missouri. These tactics fall hardest on rural communities that depend on the 340B program to keep clinics open and ensure patients receive the care they need.”
The Washington Times has reached out to Eli Lily for comment.
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