1. There is a Settlement of a class action lawsuit involving Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) drugs Blenoxane®, Cytoxan®, Etopophos®, Paraplatin®, Rubex®, Taxol® and Vepesid®.

2. This lawsuit is NOT about whether these drugs are safe or effective. This lawsuit is about the amount that you were charged for the drugs. The class action claims that customers paid too much for the drugs.

3. BMS has agreed to pay $19 million to settle the class action. 28% of this amount, minus certain fees and expenses, will be available to pay consumer claims including those consumers who participated in Medicare Part B and who made a co-payment for BMS Drugs outside of the Medicare Part B program. The remaining 72%. Minus certain fees and expenses, is eligible for allocation to third-party payors such as insurance companies.

For more detailed information, please review the Notice
and other court documents on the links at the left.


What Is The Lawsuit About?

The Average Wholesale Price (“AWP”) is used to set reimbursement amounts that are paid by a) Medicare and its beneficiaries, b) private health insurers, and c) consumers making percentage co-payments under private health insurance plans. The lawsuit claims that BMS reported false and inflated AWPs for the drugs covered in this Settlement. BMS denies any wrongdoing, and the Settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or an indication that any law was violated.

The name of the lawsuit is In re: Pharmaceutical Industry Average Wholesale Price Litigation, Docket No. 01-CV-12257-PBS, MDL No. 1456.

How Do I Know If I Am Included In The Settlement?

You are part of the Settlement if you made, or were obligated to make, a percentage co-payment under Medicare Part B for one or more of the BMS Drugs from January 1, 1991 through December 31, 2004.

A spouse of a deceased class member who made such a co-payment or a legal representative of a deceased class member’s estate may file a claim.

A percentage co-payment is a payment that varies according to the price of the drug (i.e. 20% or 25% of the total cost). If you paid the same amount (i.e. $10, $20) per prescription, regardless of the cost of the drug, you did not make a percentage co-payment and are not included in the Settlement.

Excluded from the Settlement are (1) consumers who made flat co-payments, who were reimbursed fully for their payments, or who have the right to be fully reimbursed, and (2) BMS and certain related entities as defined in the Settlement Agreement. Also excluded from the Settlement are all federal, state, and local government entities in the United States, except any such governmental agencies or programs that made or incurred an obligation to make a reimbursement for a BMS Drug as part of a health benefit plan for their employees, but only with respect to such payment.

You are not a member of a Class if you made flat co-payments, if insurance paid all of your co-payment, or if you were never obligated to make a co-payment at all.

Questions concerning the matters contained herein should be directed to the Settlement Administrator listed below.