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Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on June 12 that she is investigating pharmacy chain CVS and has sent the company a cease-and-desist notice after it allegedly used customers’ personal information to send text messages opposing a bill.
Murrill said in a statement posted to social media platform X that the messages had been sent by CVS to “large numbers of state employees and their families,” adding that this was “not an appropriate use of personal information obtained through a state contract.”
The proposed legislation that prompted the messages is the now-failed House Bill 358. The bill, if it became law, would have banned companies from owning both pharmacy benefit managers and drug stores in the state.
CVS Health Corporation owns retail pharmacies as well as CVS Caremark, one of the top three pharmacy benefit managers in the United States, with a market share of more than 100 million members.
CVS Caremark and other pharmacy benefit managers serve as middlemen, purchasing prescription drugs from manufacturers and setting the terms for how they are distributed to customers.
House Bill 358, introduced by Louisiana state Rep. Dustin Miller, originally permitted a pharmacy technician to work remotely in certain circumstances, but an amendment introduced on June 11 stated that “no permit to operate a pharmacy shall be granted or renewed to a pharmacy that is wholly or partially owned or controlled by a pharmacy benefit manager or its subsidiary.”
In a statement, Miller said the legislation would eliminate potential conflicts of interest and protect fair market competition. The measure would not require any pharmacy to close, the lawmaker said.
Before lawmakers debated the bill, CVS allegedly sent text messages to customers saying that, if passed, it could force more than 100 Louisiana locations to close.
“Last minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close your CVS Pharmacy - your medication cost may go up and your pharmacist may lose their job,” the text message stated. “Contact your elected officials to protect your access.”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill holds a mini-display showing the Ten Commandments during a press conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Aug. 5, 2024. Hilary Scheinuk/The Advocate via AP
In her letter to CVS announcing the cease-and-desist notice, the attorney general said her office has “reason to believe” the company engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices in violation of the Louisiana Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law by improperly using customers’ personal information to contact them about the proposed law.
CVS and pharmacy benefit manager Caremark manage the drug plans for thousands of Louisiana citizens as well as Louisiana state employees through the Office of Group Benefits (OGB), the letter stated.
“Beginning June 11, 2025, this office received information that CVS improperly appropriated, for its own use, the personal contact information of Louisiana OGB members and other Louisiana customers by sending them unsolicited and unwanted text messages for political reasons,” Murrill wrote.
The text messages contained “inaccurate and deceptive statements” regarding House Bill 358 in an attempt to “urge recipients to contact elected representatives to oppose the Bill,” she wrote. “The use of personal and sensitive contact information of Louisiana citizens in such a manner is inappropriate and in violation of Louisiana law.”
Murrill said the Louisiana Department of Justice “advises CVS to immediately cease and desist the unlawful use of Louisiana citizens’ personal information.”
Failure to do so may result in Louisiana taking legal action to protect the personal information of its citizens, the attorney general stated.
Murrill’s letter was addressed to senior CVS officials, including CVS Health CEO David Joyner and CVS Caremark President Ed DeVaney.
A CVS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed 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.”
The spokesperson added that CVS remains focused on serving the people of Louisiana, lowering drug costs, expanding access to care, and improving health.
“We look forward to working productively with policymakers to continue to make prescription drugs more affordable and accessible and promoting the value of community pharmacy,” the spokesperson said.
