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Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has launched an investigation into CVS, accusing the pharmacy chain of using customer phone numbers to send political messages without consent.

The messages, which reached both private citizens and state employees, warned that a proposed bill could lead to CVS pharmacy closures, higher drug costs, and job losses.

Lawmakers criticized the texts, saying they were deceptive and relied on scare tactics to influence people.

AG Murrill said CVS may have broken privacy rules by using phone numbers originally given for health-related alerts like vaccine notices or prescription reminders.

"That's not why anybody gave them their phone number," Murrill told reporters. She added that a cease-and-desist letter and formal investigative demands have been sent to CVS, AP News said.

The bill in question would have banned companies from owning both pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).

CVS owns both CVS Pharmacy and Caremark, one of the country's top PBMs, which act as middlemen in drug pricing and distribution. Critics of PBMs argue that they increase costs and hurt small, local pharmacies.

CVS Faces Backlash for Mixing Prescription Alerts With Politics

Rep. Dixon McMakin slammed the texts from CVS during the debate. "No we're not, you liars. Quit using scare tactics," he said, referring to claims that lawmakers could shut down every CVS in the state.

Even Republican Representative Bryan Fontenot shared that he got a political message from CVS in the same text thread that usually sends his prescription updates. "They've now taken that to send me political texts," he said on the House floor.

According to ABC News, screenshots of the messages showed links to prewritten letters urging lawmakers to vote against the bill.

The letter warned that if the legislation passed, patients with serious illnesses might lose access to vital medications.

CVS spokesperson Amy Thibault defended the company's actions. "We believe we have a responsibility to inform our customers of misguided legislation that seeks to shutter their trusted pharmacy," she said in an emailed statement.

She claimed the messages were sent because a last-minute amendment to the bill gave the company no time to respond through normal public hearings.

The bill passed in the House with a strong 88–4 vote, but the Senate didn't take it up before the session ended. Governor Jeff Landry has vowed to call a special session to revive the legislation.

Murrill stated that using personal information collected through a state contract for political messaging is inappropriate and a misuse of data.