AIDS Healthcare Foundation Sues GoodRx, Big Pharmacies Over Alleged Price-Fixing Scheme

Case Overview: A class action lawsuit has been filed against GoodRx and major PBMs alleging they conspired to suppress reimbursement rates for independent pharmacies through a program called the Integrated Savings Program ISP

Consumers Affected: Independent pharmacies in the United States who dispensed generic pharmaceuticals and were reimbursed through the GoodRx ISP

Court: U.S. District Court Central District for the Central District of California Western Division

In a new class action lawsuit, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accuses GoodRx and five of the country’s largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs)—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, MedImpact, and Navitus—of teaming up to rig the reimbursement game against independent pharmacies. 

The complaint alleges that the companies violated federal antitrust laws by coordinating a price-fixing scheme that slashes payments to pharmacies for filling generic drug prescriptions, while raking in profits for themselves.

At the center of the case is a little-known yet powerful tool called the Integrated Savings Program (ISP), which the lawsuit claims is being used to manipulate pricing behind the scenes, leaving small pharmacies footing the bill—and ultimately, patients with fewer choices and higher costs.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation Accuses GoodRx Big PBMs of Anti Competitive Practices

AHF, a Los Angeles–based nonprofit and the largest global provider of HIV/AIDS medical care, operates more than 60 pharmacies in the U.S. It says the alleged scheme has hit its operations hard, undercutting the already thin margins that support its HIV care programs. 

According to the lawsuit, 96 cents of every dollar earned at AHF pharmacies goes back into providing specialty care. But that model has been jeopardized by what AHF calls a “coordinated and anticompetitive” effort to reduce reimbursement rates and pile on fees.

The financial pressures don’t just threaten the pharmacies, the group said in its complaint, they threaten the organization’s patients' access to lifesaving medications.

Lawsuit Details Alleged Integrated Savings Program Price Fixing Scheme

Originally, PBMs were supposed to manage prescription benefits and claims for insurance companies. Today, they do much more, including negotiating drug prices, operating their own pharmacies, and setting reimbursement rates for competitors.

Enter GoodRx, which made its name offering consumers access to prescription discounts through a price-comparison app. Over time, GoodRx partnered with the PBMs to launch the Integrated Savings Program, which is now under fire. 

The lawsuit argues that ISP allows PBMs to automatically reroute patients to the cheapest available discount, even if that means bypassing insurance. That discounted price then becomes the amount reimbursed to the pharmacy, minus a transaction fee split among the PBM, GoodRx, and other parties.

However, pharmacies don’t get reimbursed like they would through insurance—they just get whatever the patient pays out-of-pocket, minus fees. The lawsuit argues this artificially depresses pharmacy income and kills real price competition.

Worse still, AHF alleges that the PBMs share proprietary pricing data with GoodRx, who then acts as a kind of ringmaster, calculating the lowest reimbursement rate among competitors and forcing pharmacies to accept it or risk being pushed out of networks.

Defendants Face Prior Legal Challenges and Regulatory Scrutiny

This isn’t the first time these companies have faced heat. In December, New York-based Esco Drug Co. filed a similar lawsuit accusing the same players of using GoodRx’s ISP to suppress payments and impose steep fees on independent pharmacies. That suit also claims the scheme has led to closures across the country, reducing access and raising prices.

GoodRx, meanwhile, paid $1.5 million to the FTC in 2023 after allegedly sharing sensitive health data with tech giants like Facebook and Google. And PBMs have come under increased scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers over their pricing power and role in rising drug costs.

As lawsuits pile up, critics say these cases highlight a troubling trend: market consolidation that favors a handful of powerful corporations while squeezing out the little guys—and the patients who depend on them.

In its lawsuit against the PBMs, AHF wants to represent any pharmacy in the United States who dispensed generic pharmaceuticals and was reimbursed through the GoodRx ISP. It is suing for violations of the Sherman Act, and seeking damages, injunctive relief, fees, costs, and interest.

Case Details

• Lawsuit: Aids Healthcare Foundation v. GoodRx, Inc. et al.
• Case Number: 1:25-cv-03018-MSM-LDA
• Court: U.S. District Court Central District for the Central District of California Western Division

Plaintiffs' Attorneys

• Tina Wolfson, Theodore Maya, and Alyssa Brown (Ahdoot & Wolfson, PC)

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