CVS Caremark Corporation; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment, 2724-2726 [2012-876]

Download as PDF 2724 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices matters related to the Corporation’s supervision, corporate, and resolution activities. In calling the meeting, the Board determined, on motion of Director Thomas J. Curry (Appointive), seconded by Ms. Julie L. Williams, acting in the place and stead of Director John G. Walsh (Acting Comptroller of the Currency), concurred in by Director Richard Cordray (Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), and Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg, that Corporation business required its consideration of the matters which were to be the subject of this meeting on less than seven days’ notice to the public; that no earlier notice of the meeting was practicable; that the public interest did not require consideration of the matters in a meeting open to public observation; and that the matters could be considered in a closed meeting by authority of subsections (c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(8), (c)(9)(A)(ii), (c)(9)(B), and (c)(10) of the ‘‘Government in the Sunshine Act’’ (5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4), (c)(6), (c)(8), (c)(9)(A)(ii), (c)(9)(B), and (c)(10)). The meeting was held in the Board Room of the FDIC Building located at 550 17th Street NW., Washington, DC. Dated: January 17, 2012. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Robert E. Feldman, Executive Secretary. [FR Doc. 2012–1108 Filed 1–17–12; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE P Shelley E. Garr, Deputy Secretary of the Commission. [FR Doc. 2012–1095 Filed 1–17–12; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 6715–01–P FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION Notice of Agreement Filed The Commission hereby gives notice of the filing of the following agreement under the Shipping Act of 1984. Interested parties may submit comments on the agreement to the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, within ten days of the date this notice appears in the Federal Register. Copies of the agreement are available through the Commission’s Web site (www.fmc.gov) or by contacting the Office of Agreements at (202)–523–5793 or tradeanalysis@fmc.gov. Agreement No.: 012152. Title: CSAV/Liberty Mexico Space Charter Agreement. Parties: Compania Sud Americana de Vapores S.A. and Liberty Global Logistics LLC. Filing Party: Walter H. Lion, Esq.; McLaughlin & Stern, LLP; 260 Madison Avenue; New York, NY 10016. Synopsis: The agreement authorizes the parties to cross charter space for the carriage of motorized vehicles from ports in Mexico to ports on the U.S. East Coast. Dated: January 13, 2012. By Order of the Federal Maritime Commission. Karen V. Gregory, Secretary. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION Sunshine Act Notice AGENCY: PERSON TO CONTACT FOR INFORMATION: Judith Ingram, Press Officer, Telephone: (202) 694–1220. Federal Election Commission. [FR Doc. 2012–996 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6730–01–P DATE AND TIME: Tuesday, January 24, 999 E Street, NW., Washington, FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD This meeting will be closed to the public. Sunshine Act; Notice of Meeting DC STATUS: mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED: Compliance matters pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 437g. Audits conducted pursuant to 2 U.S.C. 437g, 438(b), and Title 26, U.S.C. Matters concerning participation in civil actions or proceedings or arbitration. Internal personnel rules and procedures or matters affecting a particular employee. * * * * * VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:21 Jan 18, 2012 Jkt 226001 Parts Closed to the Public 6. Security 7. Procurement Contact Person for More Information Thomas J. Trabucco, Director, Office of External Affairs, (202) 942–1640. Dated: January 17, 2012. Thomas K. Emswiler, Secretary, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. [FR Doc. 2012–1146 Filed 1–17–12; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 6760–01–P FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION [File No. 112 3210] CVS Caremark Corporation; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment Federal Trade Commission. Proposed consent agreement. AGENCY: ACTION: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged violations of Federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft complaint and the terms of the consent order—embodied in the consent agreement—that would settle these allegations. SUMMARY: Comments must be received on or before February 13, 2012. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ‘‘CVS Caremark, File No. 112 3210’’ on your comment, and file your comment online at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ cvscaremarkcorpconsent, by following the instructions on the Web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. DATES: 2012 at 10 a.m. PLACE: 2. Thrift Savings Plan Activity Report by the Executive Director a. Monthly Participant Activity Report b. Legislative Report 3. Quarterly Reports a. Investment Policy Review b. Vendor Financial Status Report 4. Annual Administrative Expenses Report 5. Audit Process Report 9 a.m. (Eastern Time), January 23, 2012. PLACE: 4th Floor Conference Room, 1250 H Street NW., Washington, DC 20005. STATUS: Parts will be open to the public and parts will be closed to the public. TIME AND DATE: Matters To Be Considered Parts Open to the Public 1. Approval of the minutes of the December 19, 2011 Board Member Meeting PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM 19JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices Lisa Weintraub Schifferle (202) 326–3377) or Meredyth Smith Andrus (202) 326– 2863), Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and § 2.34 the Commission Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page (for January 12, 2012), on the World Wide Web, at https:// www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public Reference Room, Room 130–H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326–2222. You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to consider your comment, we must receive it on or before February 6, 2012. Write ‘‘CVS Caremark, File No. 112 3210’’ on your comment. Your comment—including your name and your state—will be placed on the public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/ publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to remove individuals’ home contact information from comments before placing them on the Commission Web site. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive personal information, like anyone’s Social Security number, date of birth, driver’s license number or other state identification number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any sensitive health information, like medical records or other individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not include any ‘‘[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information which is obtained from any person and which is privileged mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:21 Jan 18, 2012 Jkt 226001 or confidential,’’ as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).1 Your comment will be kept confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the public interest. Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your online comment, you must file it at https:// ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/ cvscaremarkcorpconsent by following the instructions on the Web-based form. If this Notice appears at https:// www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site. If you file your comment on paper, write ‘‘CVS Caremark, File No. 112 3210’’ on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H–113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the Commission by courier or overnight service. Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws that the Commission administers permit the collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that it receives on or before February 13, 2012. You can find more information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in the Commission’s privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm. 1 In particular, the written request for confidential treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c). PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 2725 Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order To Aid Public Comment The Federal Trade Commission has accepted, subject to final approval, a consent agreement from CVS Caremark Corporation (‘‘CVSC’’). The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. Comments received during this period will become part of the public record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final the agreement’s proposed order. CVSC is a pharmacy services company that, among other things, markets and sells Medicare drug plans and Medicare Part D drugs. CVSC currently owns multiple subsidiaries, including RxAmerica, that offer Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Medicare Part D is a prescription drug benefit for consumers with Medicare coverage, primarily seniors and persons with disabilities. To obtain Part D benefits, beneficiaries must enroll in a Medicare drug plan administered by an insurer or other private company approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (‘‘CMS’’). Beneficiaries can shop for a Medicare drug plan by looking up plan benefits and drug costs on a provider’s Web site, by going onto CMS’ Medicare Web site and using the web-based tool known as Plan Finder, or by visiting other thirdparty Web sites where such information is posted. Once enrolled, beneficiaries generally have cost sharing obligations until the total cost of their drugs reaches what is known as the coverage gap or ‘‘donut hole,’’ at which point the beneficiary pays the full cost of the drugs. The Commission’s complaint alleges that CVSC, through its subsidiary RxAmerica, violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by misrepresenting that the prices of covered Medicare Part D prescription drugs, as posted on Plan Finder and on the Web sites of RxAmerica and other third parties from approximately 2007 until the end of 2008, were accurate estimates of the prices that beneficiaries would pay for those drugs at CVS and Walgreens. Rather, the prices charged to RxAmerica beneficiaries who purchased their covered Part D generic drugs from CVS Pharmacy or Walgreens during the relevant time period were significantly higher—in some cases as much as ten times higher—than the prices posted on those Web sites. As a result of this E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM 19JAN1 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 2726 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 12 / Thursday, January 19, 2012 / Notices pricing discrepancy, many RxAmerica beneficiaries using CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens stores ran through their benefits coverage at faster rates than they would have based on the posted prices. Many beneficiaries, therefore, unexpectedly entered the donut hole and became responsible for the total cost of their prescription drugs, with no opportunity to change plans until the next calendar year. To remedy the violations charged and to prevent CVSC from engaging in the future in practices similar to those alleged in the complaint, the proposed order contains injunctive provisions and a consumer redress program. Section I of the proposed order prohibits CVSC from misrepresenting the price or cost of Medicare Part D prescription drugs, or other prices or costs associated with Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Section II of the proposed order requires CVSC, within five (5) days of the date the order becomes final, to pay the Commission $5 million for consumer redress and administrative costs. This provision specifies that the Commission may apply any remaining funds after redress is completed for such other equitable relief as it determines to be reasonably related to CVSC’s practices alleged in the complaint. Any remaining funds not used for such equitable relief shall be deposited into the United States Treasury as disgorgement. Section III of the proposed consent order requires CVSC to produce certain information necessary for the Commission to administer consumer redress. Sections IV through VIII of the proposed order are reporting and compliance provisions. Section IV requires CVSC to retain documents relating to its compliance with the order for a five (5) year period. Section V requires dissemination of the order now and in the future to all current and future subsidiaries, current and future principals, officers, directors, and managers, and to persons with responsibilities relating to the subject matter of the order. It also requires CVSC to secure a signed and dated statement acknowledging receipt of the order from all persons who receive a copy of the order pursuant to Section V. Section VI ensures notification to the Commission of changes in corporate status. Section VII mandates that CVSC submit a compliance report to the Commission within sixty (60) days, and periodically thereafter as requested. Section VIII is a provision ‘‘sunsetting’’ the order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:21 Jan 18, 2012 Jkt 226001 The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official interpretation of the complaint or the proposed order, or to modify the proposed order’s terms in any way. By direction of the Commission. Donald S. Clark, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2012–876 Filed 1–18–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6750–01–P GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION [OMB Control No. 3090–0080; Docket 2011– 0016; Sequence 9] General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Contract Financing Final Payment (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232– 72; GSA Form 1142 Release of Claims) Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer, GSA. ACTION: Notice of request for comments regarding an extension to an existing OMB clearance. AGENCY: Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Regulatory Secretariat will be submitting to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a request to review and approve an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement and the reinstatement of GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims, regarding final payment under construction and building services contract. GSA Form 1142 was inadvertently deleted as part of the rewrite of GSAR regulations on Contract Financing. GSA Contracting Officers have used this form to achieve uniformity and consistency in the release of claims process. Public comments are particularly invited on: Whether this collection of information is necessary and whether it will have practical utility; whether our estimate of the public burden of this collection of information is accurate, and based on valid assumptions and methodology; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected. DATES: Submit comments on or before: March 19, 2012. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Dana Munson, General Services Acquisition Policy Division, GSA, (202) 357–9652 or email Dana.Munson@gsa.gov. ADDRESSES: Submit comments identified by Information Collection SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 3090–0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232– 72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims) by any of the following methods: • Regulations.gov: https:// www.regulations.gov. Submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking portal by inputting ‘‘Information Collection 3090– 0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232– 72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims),’’ under the heading ‘‘Enter Keyword or ID’’ and selecting ‘‘Search’’. Select the link ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ that corresponds with ‘‘Information Collection 3090–0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232–72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims).’’ Follow the instructions provided at the ‘‘Submit a Comment’’ screen. Please include your name, company name (if any), and ‘‘Information Collection 3090–0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232–72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims),’’ on your attached document. • Fax: (202) 501–4067. • Mail: General Services Administration, Regulatory Secretariat (MVCB), 1275 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20417. ATTN: Hada Flowers/IC 3090–0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232–72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims). Instructions: Please submit comments only and cite Information Collection 3090–0080, Contract Financing Final Payment; (GSAR Part 532 and 552.232– 72; GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims), in all correspondence related to this collection. All comments received will be posted without change to https:// www.regulations.gov, including any personal and/or business confidential information provided. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION A. Purpose The General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) clause 552.232–72 requires construction and building services contractors to submit a release of claims before final payment is made to ensure contractors are paid in accordance with their contract requirements and for work performed. GSA Form 1142, Release of Claims is used to achieve uniformity and consistency in the release of claims process. B. Annual Reporting Burden Respondents: 2000. Responses per Respondent: 1. Hours per Response: .1. Total Burden Hours: 200. E:\FR\FM\19JAN1.SGM 19JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 12 (Thursday, January 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2724-2726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-876]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 112 3210]


CVS Caremark Corporation; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To 
Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of Federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to 
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft 
complaint and the terms of the consent order--embodied in the consent 
agreement--that would settle these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before February 13, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may file a comment online or on paper, by 
following the instructions in the Request for Comment part of the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below. Write ``CVS Caremark, File No. 
112 3210'' on your comment, and file your comment online at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/cvscaremarkcorpconsent, by following the 
instructions on the Web-based form. If you prefer to file your comment 
on paper, mail or deliver your comment to the following address: 
Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex 
D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

[[Page 2725]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Weintraub Schifferle (202) 326-
3377) or Meredyth Smith Andrus (202) 326-2863), Federal Trade 
Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20580.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Sec.  2.34 the 
Commission Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is hereby given that 
the above-captioned consent agreement containing a consent order to 
cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, subject to final 
approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the public record for a 
period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis to Aid Public 
Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and the 
allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text of 
the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page 
(for January 12, 2012), on the World Wide Web, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/actions.shtm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public 
Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-2222.
    You can file a comment online or on paper. For the Commission to 
consider your comment, we must receive it on or before February 6, 
2012. Write ``CVS Caremark, File No. 112 3210'' on your comment. Your 
comment--including your name and your state--will be placed on the 
public record of this proceeding, including, to the extent practicable, 
on the public Commission Web site, at https://www.ftc.gov/os/publiccomments.shtm. As a matter of discretion, the Commission tries to 
remove individuals' home contact information from comments before 
placing them on the Commission Web site.
    Because your comment will be made public, you are solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive personal information, like anyone's Social Security number, 
date of birth, driver's license number or other state identification 
number or foreign country equivalent, passport number, financial 
account number, or credit or debit card number. You are also solely 
responsible for making sure that your comment does not include any 
sensitive health information, like medical records or other 
individually identifiable health information. In addition, do not 
include any ``[t]rade secret or any commercial or financial information 
which is obtained from any person and which is privileged or 
confidential,'' as provided in Section 6(f) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 
46(f), and FTC Rule 4.10(a)(2), 16 CFR 4.10(a)(2). In particular, do 
not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales 
statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing 
processes, or customer names.
    If you want the Commission to give your comment confidential 
treatment, you must file it in paper form, with a request for 
confidential treatment, and you have to follow the procedure explained 
in FTC Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).\1\ Your comment will be kept 
confidential only if the FTC General Counsel, in his or her sole 
discretion, grants your request in accordance with the law and the 
public interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In particular, the written request for confidential 
treatment that accompanies the comment must include the factual and 
legal basis for the request, and must identify the specific portions 
of the comment to be withheld from the public record. See FTC Rule 
4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Postal mail addressed to the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security screening. As a result, we encourage you to submit 
your comments online. To make sure that the Commission considers your 
online comment, you must file it at https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/cvscaremarkcorpconsent by following the instructions on the Web-
based form. If this Notice appears at https://www.regulations.gov/#!home, you also may file a comment through that Web site.
    If you file your comment on paper, write ``CVS Caremark, File No. 
112 3210'' on your comment and on the envelope, and mail or deliver it 
to the following address: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the 
Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20580. If possible, submit your paper comment to the 
Commission by courier or overnight service.
    Visit the Commission Web site at https://www.ftc.gov to read this 
Notice and the news release describing it. The FTC Act and other laws 
that the Commission administers permit the collection of public 
comments to consider and use in this proceeding as appropriate. The 
Commission will consider all timely and responsive public comments that 
it receives on or before February 13, 2012. You can find more 
information, including routine uses permitted by the Privacy Act, in 
the Commission's privacy policy, at https://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission has accepted, subject to final 
approval, a consent agreement from CVS Caremark Corporation (``CVSC'').
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
thirty (30) days for receipt of comments by interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the 
agreement and the comments received, and will decide whether it should 
withdraw from the agreement and take appropriate action or make final 
the agreement's proposed order.
    CVSC is a pharmacy services company that, among other things, 
markets and sells Medicare drug plans and Medicare Part D drugs. CVSC 
currently owns multiple subsidiaries, including RxAmerica, that offer 
Medicare Part D prescription drug plans. Medicare Part D is a 
prescription drug benefit for consumers with Medicare coverage, 
primarily seniors and persons with disabilities. To obtain Part D 
benefits, beneficiaries must enroll in a Medicare drug plan 
administered by an insurer or other private company approved by the 
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (``CMS''). Beneficiaries can 
shop for a Medicare drug plan by looking up plan benefits and drug 
costs on a provider's Web site, by going onto CMS' Medicare Web site 
and using the web-based tool known as Plan Finder, or by visiting other 
third-party Web sites where such information is posted. Once enrolled, 
beneficiaries generally have cost sharing obligations until the total 
cost of their drugs reaches what is known as the coverage gap or 
``donut hole,'' at which point the beneficiary pays the full cost of 
the drugs.
    The Commission's complaint alleges that CVSC, through its 
subsidiary RxAmerica, violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by 
misrepresenting that the prices of covered Medicare Part D prescription 
drugs, as posted on Plan Finder and on the Web sites of RxAmerica and 
other third parties from approximately 2007 until the end of 2008, were 
accurate estimates of the prices that beneficiaries would pay for those 
drugs at CVS and Walgreens. Rather, the prices charged to RxAmerica 
beneficiaries who purchased their covered Part D generic drugs from CVS 
Pharmacy or Walgreens during the relevant time period were 
significantly higher--in some cases as much as ten times higher--than 
the prices posted on those Web sites. As a result of this

[[Page 2726]]

pricing discrepancy, many RxAmerica beneficiaries using CVS Pharmacy 
and Walgreens stores ran through their benefits coverage at faster 
rates than they would have based on the posted prices. Many 
beneficiaries, therefore, unexpectedly entered the donut hole and 
became responsible for the total cost of their prescription drugs, with 
no opportunity to change plans until the next calendar year.
    To remedy the violations charged and to prevent CVSC from engaging 
in the future in practices similar to those alleged in the complaint, 
the proposed order contains injunctive provisions and a consumer 
redress program.
    Section I of the proposed order prohibits CVSC from misrepresenting 
the price or cost of Medicare Part D prescription drugs, or other 
prices or costs associated with Medicare Part D prescription drug 
plans.
    Section II of the proposed order requires CVSC, within five (5) 
days of the date the order becomes final, to pay the Commission $5 
million for consumer redress and administrative costs. This provision 
specifies that the Commission may apply any remaining funds after 
redress is completed for such other equitable relief as it determines 
to be reasonably related to CVSC's practices alleged in the complaint. 
Any remaining funds not used for such equitable relief shall be 
deposited into the United States Treasury as disgorgement. Section III 
of the proposed consent order requires CVSC to produce certain 
information necessary for the Commission to administer consumer 
redress.
    Sections IV through VIII of the proposed order are reporting and 
compliance provisions. Section IV requires CVSC to retain documents 
relating to its compliance with the order for a five (5) year period. 
Section V requires dissemination of the order now and in the future to 
all current and future subsidiaries, current and future principals, 
officers, directors, and managers, and to persons with responsibilities 
relating to the subject matter of the order. It also requires CVSC to 
secure a signed and dated statement acknowledging receipt of the order 
from all persons who receive a copy of the order pursuant to Section V. 
Section VI ensures notification to the Commission of changes in 
corporate status. Section VII mandates that CVSC submit a compliance 
report to the Commission within sixty (60) days, and periodically 
thereafter as requested. Section VIII is a provision ``sunsetting'' the 
order after twenty (20) years, with certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed order. It is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the complaint or the proposed order, or to modify the 
proposed order's terms in any way.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-876 Filed 1-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P
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