A Southern Illinois physician is suing McKesson Corp. and other general drug companies, accusing them of colluding to fix prices for their drugs, according to local ABC news affiliate WSIL-TV.
Key lawsuit details:
1. Tom Pliura, MD, owner of Marion (Ill.) HealthCare said the increasing cost of generic medications and set reimbursement rates from government payers have forced the surgery center in his clinic to turn away patients because either his clinic or the patient must cover medication costs that Medicare and Medicaid won't.
2. Dr. Pliura's filed his lawsuit last year, months before a recent national lawsuit accusing pharmaceutical companies of wrongdoing. The national suit, including 44 states, accuses the companies of taking billions from consumers by colluding to raise prices.
3. An investigation before the national lawsuit was filed found the price of a generic asthma medication had increased more than 4,000 percent over the course of a year.