UnitedHealth Group's pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx is settling with the state of Massachusetts over claims that it failed to follow prescription pricing procedures, attorney general Maura Healey announced Feb. 24.
Ms. Healey said the settlement was over allegations that OptumRx skipped over regulatory benchmarks for pricing workers’ compensation prescription drug charges.
By skipping over the regulatory process, OptumRx allowed "excessive drug costs" to be unjustly passed on to the workers' compensation insurance system, according to the announcement.
"Our investigation found that OptumRx drove up costs in the system, which can increase premiums for small business owners across the state, many of whom have been struggling during the COVID pandemic," Healey said. "This settlement ensures that OptumRx does not unlawfully profit and follows the rules going forward."
OptumRx will also be required by the settlement to shore up its processes to ensure no other overcharges affect the workers' compensation system.