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Anthem Blue Cross, California's
largest for-profit health insurer, has withdrawn its request for some of its
policyholders to buy their prescription drugs from a specific mail-order
pharmacy. In November, the company had notified policyholders of the new requirement,
which applied to certain medications used to treat major illnesses. The company
stated that this procedure would help keep costs down. However, the requirement
was challenged based on California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which specifies
that all people must be treated equally.
California’s Attorney General Kamala
D. Harris commented that any rule forcing some people to buy drugs from one
drugstore, but allowing others to shop elsewhere could be a violation of the
law. Lynda Gledhill, as spokesperson for the attorney general, stated that an
individual cannot be discriminated against because of a medical condition. She
said that if patients are being required to get prescriptions from a certain
drugstore because of their illness, that is likely illegal.
Anthem is sending letters to its
policyholders taking specialty medications to inform them that the company no
longer requires them to purchase their medications from the specific online
pharmacy beginning March 1. The company stated that because of the feedback
from its members, it is evaluating that input and has now eliminated the March
deadline for the specialty medications. Anthem is working to better present the
benefits of the mail-order pharmacy program and will communicate its details
before making any changes to the existing program.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
