{"id":103704,"date":"2019-06-13T14:01:37","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T18:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=103704"},"modified":"2019-06-13T12:03:39","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:03:39","slug":"attorney-general-james-cracks-down-on-pharmacies-failing-to-comply-with-drug-pricing-transparency-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=103704","title":{"rendered":"Attorney General James cracks down on pharmacies failing to comply with drug pricing transparency law"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

More than 40 pharmacies failed to post drug prices, leaving consumers in the dark<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Attorney General Letitia James<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General Letitia James announced the conclusion of\nan investigation into pharmacies across New York State that found many have\nfailed to post the costs of drugs to consumers, as required by law. As a result\nof the investigation, the Attorney General\u2019s Office sent cease and desist\nletters to 44 pharmacies found to be in violation of the law, mandating\ncompliance with consumer protection laws that require that pharmacies maintain\na list of their prices for the 150 most commonly prescribed drugs. State law\nalso mandates that pharmacies update this Drug Retail Price List at least\nweekly, distribute the list to consumers upon request, and post a sign\nnotifying consumers of the availability of the list. The sign is required to be\nposted in the pharmacy where prescriptions are accepted or dispensed, or in the\npharmacy\u2019s waiting area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPosting prices of drugs is a basic method of transparency\nthat enables individuals to make informed decisions about their health and\ntheir finances,\u201d said James. \u201cOur investigation revealed that too many\npharmacies throughout the state have flouted these consumer protection laws,\npotentially resulting in New Yorkers paying significantly more for medications\nthey depend on every day. We will continue to hold pharmacies accountable and\nwork to bring down the costs of prescription drugs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The requirement to maintain a price list and to post a\nconspicuous sign is not just a mere formality. The investigation revealed that\npricing between pharmacies for the same exact drug can vary by as much as 300\npercent. One drug\u2019s price ranged over $600 between pharmacies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the course of the investigation, the Attorney General\u2019s\nOffice visited more than 100 pharmacies across the state to request price lists\nand observe compliance with signage. The sweep revealed that 38 percent of\npharmacies were in violation of the list and signage law. Those pharmacies in\nviolation of these laws were located in: Binghamton, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Nassau\nCounty, Northern Manhattan, Plattsburgh, Rochester, Suffolk County, Syracuse,\nUtica, Watertown and Westchester County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cease and desist letters required the pharmacies to come\ninto full compliance with the law within 15 days of receipt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investigation was coordinated by Assistant Attorney\nGeneral Julia Kaplan Toce, overseen by Assistant Attorney General In Charge\nDeanna R. Nelson, both from the Watertown Regional Office. All Regional Offices\nand their investigative teams participated, overseen by Chief Deputy Attorney\nGeneral for Regional Affairs Jill Faber. Watertown Regional Office Intern\nRobert Blackstock provided extensive data analysis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 40 pharmacies failed to post drug prices, leaving consumers in the dark Attorney General Letitia James announced the conclusion of an investigation into pharmacies across New York State that found many have failed to post the costs of drugs to consumers, as required by law. As a result of the investigation, the Attorney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":98849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23810,32,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellbeing","category-crime","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-qYE","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Attorney-General-Letitia-James.jpg?fit=2832%2C4256&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/98849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}