Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) filed a lawsuite in federal court alleging that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals illegally inflated the price of Eylea. Eylea is used to treat wet age-related macular degeneration and cost $1,850 per injection. But the insurance companies claim that an equally effective generic treatment from a competitor only costs $55.
The lawsuit alleges that Regeneron entered into a "secret arrangement" with the Chronic Disease Fund Inc to give financial aid to patients for their out-of-pocket share of the cost for Eylea, but this aid was not given for the Medicare program or for private healthcare plans.
Noted in the filing is that Regeneron hid its pricing scheme until it was exposed in an action filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in June 2020. Other healthcare insurers have sued Regeneron over the same CDF scheme.
BCBSMA contends that Regeneron violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law and committed fraud and fraudulent concealment and tortious interference with contract.