Medicaid PBM report to stay secret for now, judge rules

Plans to release a report documenting the costly practices of pharmacy middlemen were shelved by Ohio Medicaid officials on Tuesday at the request of a judge reviewing claims by CVS Caremark that the analysis contains confidential information and trade secrets (Source: “Report on pharmacy middleman pricing to stay secret -- for now,” Columbus Dispatch, July 17, 2018).

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jenifer French asked for the delay to allow CVS Caremark time to identify information in the 51-page report that it considers proprietary and believes should be redacted before the report is released to the public and lawmakers.

French did not rule on CVS’ request for a temporary restraining order to block the report's planned release late Tuesday afternoon. Instead, she ordered Medicaid and CVS officials back to court on July 25 after they’ve had a chance to discuss the concerns. She also asked to privately review a copy, which shows higher-than-industry costs paid by taxpayers to cover Medicaid patients' drugs.