A new lawsuit filed in Louisiana accuses CVS Health Corp. of violating privacy and consumer protection laws by using patients' personal information to influence state legislation.

Last week, CVS sent a flurry of texts and emails to Louisiana residents urging them to oppose House Bill 358, a measure that would have prohibited pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) from owning retail pharmacies—directly impacting CVS Caremark, the company’s PBM subsidiary. The messages warned of potential store closures, rising drug costs, and pharmacist job losses, all under the headline “SOS: Save Our Stores.”

But according to the plaintiffs, CVS went too far. The lawsuit, filed in the 16th Judicial District, alleges that the campaign used private patient data for political messaging without consent—something both ethically questionable and potentially illegal.

“No one goes to the pharmacy expecting their personal data will be turned into a campaign tool,” said attorney Jerome Moroux. “That crosses a bright ethical and legal line.”

Louisiana’s Attorney General had already issued a cease-and-desist letter over the texts, and now plaintiffs are seeking class-action status for anyone who received them. The suit claims CVS’s actions violated both state and federal privacy laws, as well as Louisiana’s unfair trade practices statute.

CVS maintains the outreach was legal and necessary to respond to what it called “misguided legislation.” The bill ultimately failed in the Senate, but could return later—its provisions were slipped into a different measure during a closed-door conference committee in the final days of the 2025 session.

If passed, CVS said the law would have forced the closure of over 100 locations and affected nearly one million customers in the state.

Source: WBRZ. Lawsuit says CVS crossed 'ethical and legal line' while fighting late change to pharmacy bill. Published June 18 2025.