Baton Rouge, La. (AP) – Attorney General of Louisiana, Attorney General Liz Murrill, announced on Thursday that she was investigating whether the personal data of the customers were not properly used to send text messages that are praised against a proposed state law.
Murrill also said she planned to publish a recurrent letter to the company to the company to stop the messages.
When the legislators discussed on Wednesday about a calculation owed, they stopped screenshots of text messages from CVS.
“Last minute laws in Louisiana threatens to close her CVS pharmacy -your medication costs can increase and your pharmacist can lose your job,” says such a text that has been received by the Associated Press.
Bill would have banned ownership of both drug transactions and the managers of the pharmacies
The proposed legislation would have forbidden companies to own both pharmacies and drug deals.
The CVS Health Corporation has both retail pharmacies and CVS Caremark. CVS Caremark and other managers serve as intermediate traders who buy prescription medication from manufacturers and determine the terms for distribution to customers.
“These mighty middlemen may benefit by inflating the drug costs and squeezing the Main Street pharmacies,” warned a report by the Federal Trade Commission 2024.
On its website, CVS says that “it is negotiating lower costs for our customers and expanding the cover to affordable medication that people need to stay healthy”.
CVS texts contained a draft letter that spoke out against the invoice
The company’s text messages to the residents of Louisiana contained a link to a draft letter in which the legislators ask to oppose the legislation that someone could sign with their e -mail address and send them to the legislator.
“The proposed legislation would take away the ability of my and other patients in Louisiana to correctly send our medication to our houses,” the letter said. “They would also prohibit the pharmacies who serve patients who suffer from complex diseases who require specialist pharmacy care in order to treat their life-threatening diseases such as organ transplants or cancer. These patients in need of protection cannot be disrupted by their care.” The consequences would be arduous. “
MP Dixon McMakin pointed out some of the news from CVS and said they were misleading and wrong. He expressly pointed out advertisements that people on social media reported that the legislator could “stop any CVS pharmacy in the state”.
“No, we are not, you are liar. Stop being a liar. Stop with fear tactics,” said McMakin.
A GOP legislator received one of the texts
Republican MP Bryan Fontenot kept his phone up and showed that he also received an SMS from CVS.
“It is in the same text thread (used) to notify when my recipe is filled,” he said. “You have now taken this to send me political texts.”
CVS sent messages to “large number” of state employees and their families to sit down against the proposed legislation that participates in the company’s pharmaceutical performance manager, said Murrill in an X -post.
CVs gave CVS their telephone numbers to obtain pharmaceutical information such as the availability of vaccines or prescription collection, but the company uses this personal information “for their own personal company interests against pending laws,” Murrill told reporters. “That’s why someone didn’t give them their phone number.”
Amy Thibault, a spokesman for CVS, said the texts were the result of a change in the bill on Wednesday without the opportunity for a public hearing.
The change was made by a conference committee behind closed doors-a regular practice that was used in the Statehouse if the house and the Senate cannot agree to the final versions of a law.
“We believe that we are responsible for informing our customers about misguided laws that try to close their trustworthy pharmacy and we acted accordingly,” said Thibault in an e -mail. “Our communication with our customers, patients and members of our community is in line with the law.”
Landry says he could call a special meeting
Republican governor Jeff Landry continued to promote the draft law when the state’s legislature concluded on Thursday afternoon.
The legislation that said the information from the supporters would strengthen independent pharmacies and reduce the costs for prescription medication, received an overwhelming approval in the house with a vote of 88-4.
Among those who voted against the measure was rep. Mandy. The democrat said that while she wanted to vote for it, she received news from people in her district so as not to ask for her. She said CVS ‘Lobbying had reached her and feared that she would not be able to gain access to her medication.
“CV … you should be ashamed. They are startled by people,” said Landry.
The law finally died when the Senate decided not to accept it in the last hour of the 2025 meeting.
Landry said he was planning a special meeting in the hope of saying goodbye similar laws.
“Yes, we will have a special up to lower prescription medication for our citizens,” Landry said an explanation. “It is so important.”
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Brook reported from New Orleans.
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This story has been updated to correct that governor Jeff Landry, not his speaker, made a written explanation.
