City of Torrington Takes On Big Pharma: Connecticut’s Fight Against Insulin Price Manipulation

The skyrocketing cost of insulin has become a crisis affecting millions of Americans with diabetes. One Connecticut city has taken a bold stand against the alleged price inflation scheme—and the implications could be far-reaching for other organizations paying these inflated costs.

The David vs. Goliath Battle

On August 21, 2025, the City of Torrington filed a groundbreaking federal lawsuit that reads like a corporate conspiracy thriller. The defendants are some of the biggest names in pharmaceuticals, including:

Insulin Manufacturers:

• Eli Lilly
• Novo Nordisk
• Sanofi

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs):

• CVS Caremark
• Express Scripts
• OptumRx

The city’s complaint alleges these companies worked together in an “Insulin Pricing Scheme” that has cost taxpayers, employers, and patients billions of dollars in artificially inflated drug costs.

“Insulin, which today cost manufacturers as little as $2 per vial to produce, and which were priced at $20 per vial in the 1990s, now range in price from $300 to over $700,” the complaint said.

While the manufacturing cost of insulin has decreased overall and the insulin formulations have remained essentially unchanged, the price has increased by more than 3,000% in some cases.

This has led to some diabetics skipping insulin doses due to cost—a dangerous practice that can lead to serious health complications or even death.

For municipalities like Torrington, these inflated costs create a ripple effect, which impacts the entire community. As the lawsuit states, “any increase in spending has a detrimental effect on Plaintiff’s overall budget,” ultimately reducing the city’s ability to provide essential services to residents.

What Makes This Lawsuit Unique

The lawsuit is particularly significant because it targets not just the insulin manufacturers, but also the overlooked middlemen: Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). These companies operate as intermediaries, supposedly negotiating better drug prices for consumers and employers. This lawsuit alleges the PBMs are part of the problem, participating in a scheme that keeps prices artificially high.

The legal claims include:

• RICO violations (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act)
• Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act violations, and
• Common law claims

Who Else Might Be Affected?

If the allegations in this lawsuit are proven true, the implications extend far beyond the city of Torrington. Any organization that has purchased insulin-related medications could potentially be affected, including:

• Other municipalities and government entities
• Employers who provide health insurance
• Insurance companies
• Healthcare systems
• Self-insured organizations

Industry Response

CVS Health has already issued a statement defending their practices, claiming “drugmakers alone set the price of insulin.” 

Other defendants hved not yet responded.

Lawsuits such as this raise a fundamental question about healthcare costs in America: Should life-sustaining medications like insulin be subject to the same profit-maximizing strategies as luxury goods? 

Can You Join?

In late 2023, lawsuits against insulin manufacturers and PBMs consolidated into a multi-district litigation (MDL) in the United States District Court of New Jersey (Case 2:23-md-03080-BRM-RLS. This is a federal case, so any group or individual in the United States with a qualifying claim may join the lawsuit. 

The MDL establishes three litigation tracks:

1. Self-Funded Payer Track- This track includes individual actions brought by self-funded payers or groups thereof. Entities such as local governments (counties, cities, schools), unions, and both for-profit and non-profit organizations that fund their own health plans and cover prescription drug costs for their members fall under this category. These plaintiffs allege that insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) conspired to artificially inflate insulin prices, leading to increased expenses for their health plans
2. State Attorney General Track- This track encompasses lawsuits filed by state attorneys general on behalf of their respective states. These legal actions assert that the inflated insulin pricing schemes have violated state consumer protection laws, resulting in significant financial harm to state-funded healthcare programs and residents.
3. Third-Party Payer Class Track- This track involves putative class actions initiated on behalf of third-party payers, such as insurance companies and other entities that reimburse for prescription drugs. These class actions claim that the defendants’ pricing strategies have unjustly enriched them at the expense of third-party payers, who have borne the inflated costs of insulin.

These tracks aim to address the injustices of the insulin pricing scheme by seeking:

• Injunctive relief– to halt predatory pricing practices and protect self-funded plans and their members from further harm.
• Reimbursement– for those who have overpaid due to artificially inflated insulin prices.
• Seizure of illicit revenues– amassed by PBMs and manufacturers.
• Punitive damages– to deter similar misconduct in the future.

The burden of exploitative insulin pricing falls heavily on self-funded healthcare plans and their members/patients, including self-funded U.S. government entities and unions at the state, county, and city levels. These groups and the individuals in them have a unique opportunity to hold insulin manufacturers and PBMs accountable by joining the litigation.

Generally, you may qualify if you:

• Are a diabetic patient (or are an insurer of one) who has paid for insulin out-of-pocket or through insurance;
• Are part of a self-funded health plan that has incurred increased costs due to high insulin prices; or
• Represent a health plan or organization whose inflated prices have been financially impacted

The state of insulin, as well as other prescription pricing, is undergoing significant changes due to these legal challenges and regulatory interventions. If you represent an affected entity or want to learn more about filing a claim, reach out to our team here at Herd Law Firm at 713-955-3699 or Charles.Herd@HerdLawFirm.com for more information or to see if you or your loved ones qualify to file a claim!

8/26/2025