LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Feb. 7, 2022) – A Holland pharmacy was named in a “Notice of Intended Action” complaint issued on Monday by the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.
Skip’s Pharmacy at 700 Michigan Avenue, along with Value Center Pharmacy II in the Detroit suburb of Madison Heights, allegedly charged exorbitant prices for the iHealth COVID 19 test kit. “This office has evidence Value Center Pharmacy was charging $50 per kit in December of 2021, and that Skip’s Pharmacy was charging $80 per kit for that same product in early January of 2022,” according to the NIA statement. “We have compared these prices with both those being offered online, as well as those being charged by other Michigan pharmacies. The information we have gathered provides probable cause to believe Value Center Pharmacy and Skip’s Pharmacy were charging prices to consumers for the iHealth kit grossly in excess of the price at with this kit was being sold by other retailers.”
The online retail price for this Antigen Rapid Test is $17.98 for a two-test package, and was selling as high at $19.98 over the past month. While admitting that kits could cost more at brick-and-mortar retailers due to overhead expenses, the AG office contends in the NIA that the prices charged by these two retailers “appear to have been made artificially high.”
In response, the two stores provided invoices showing how much they had paid to a third company, Birch Run Drugs, to acquire these kits. The AG office claimed that it had some “resistance” in trying to gather information from the two stores, and that the same “agent” – named in the NIA as one Murali Ginjupalli – owns the two pharmacies and has a connection with Birch Run Drugs.
The AG office has given the two pharmacies until Sunday, February 13th, to respond to the accusation and to provide additional documentation on the matter in order to avoid additional legal action. “Our attempts to look into consumer complaints have been met with unnecessary roadblocks thus far, so it is my hope this can be resolved without needing to take additional action against these pharmacies,” Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a separtment statement. “We will not stand for businesses exploiting this current wave of COVID-19 cases for monetary gain. If you believe the prices for at-home test kits or any other COVID-related item are higher than they should be, please contact our consumer protection team. We remain committed to addressing instances of price gouging.”
There was no immediate statement from Ginjupalli or from the entities involved in response to the public disclosure of the NIA.
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