Consumer Watchdog is accusing Cigna Corp. of unfairly forcing its members to order their HIV/AIDS medications through its mail-order pharmacy. A class-action lawsuit, filed April 27, is the fourth such action filed by the advocacy group against a major health insurer over HIV/AIDS drug practices.

The lawsuit, John Doe v. Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co., was brought by Consumer Watchdog and Whatley Kallas, LLP on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff whom Cigna required to purchase prescriptions through its subsidiary, Tel-Drug.

By restricting members to the mail-order pharmacy, the suit alleges, Cigna endangers patients who depend on local pharmacists to help them decode the complicated drug regimen and monitor the patient for potentially fatal side effects. Mail-order packages also take longer to order and ship, and are susceptible to thieves. Furthermore, it creates a privacy risk for patients who haven’t yet told family, friends or colleagues about their condition, the suit says, particularly if members live in apartment buildings or have their packages delivered to them at work.

Patients who insist on receiving their medication from a local pharmacy forfeit Cigna’s in-network coverage and are therefore responsible for the full cost of the prescription. Tel-Drug’s policy also does not allow for early refills, which endangers patients if they run into problems acquiring refills. Non-specialty drugs, however, are not allowed to be filled through Tel-Drug, meaning patients with multiple medications often have to manage them from several different locations.

All of these constitute discriminatory practices under the Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act and also violate several provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to the suit.

“We hope that Cigna will listen to the concerns of their customers and allow them to opt-out of the mail order program, which threatens their health and privacy,” Consumer Watchdog spokesperson Jerry Flanagan said in a statement.

The group had previously settled two similar lawsuits with UnitedHealth Group and Anthem, Inc. in 2013, resulting in an opt-out feature for HIV/AIDS patients, and another lawsuit with Aetna Inc., filed in December 2014, is currently playing out in court.

A spokesperson for Cigna said the company does not comment on pending litigation.
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