Oregon Reaches Large Settlement With Pharmaceutical Company, Pfizer

Oregon reaches a large settlement with Pfizer for misleading drug pricing coupons.

Oregon's Attorney General Rosenblum announced Monday that a $975,000 settlement has been reached with the pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, for distributing misleading marketing materials and coupons to Oregon consumers.

The coupons distributed by Pfizer were designed to help consumers afford co pays or deductibles associated with brand-name drugs.

After a four-month investigation, the Oregon Department of Justice found that Pfizer distributed misleading marketing materials and coupons that stated that consumers would “pay no more than” a certain amount, such as $15, $20, $25, at the pharmacy for four of Pfizer’s drugs: Flector Patch, Estring, and Quillivant/Quillichew. But many consumers had to pay significantly more. 

The investigation identified 371 Oregon customers who paid over $40,000 in total over the amount promised by the coupon the first time a prescription was filled.

$620,000 of the settlement will go to support two local organizations, Project Access Now and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, which both help uninsured and under insured Oregonians afford health care. The remaining amount will help the Department of Justice fund future investigations and reimburse consumers who used the misleading coupons.

Consumers who used the misleading coupons will be contacted in the mail. The average payment each person will receive is $108.