Page:U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu.pdf/7

4 price for that drug. But, according to petitioners, respondents reported higher prices to these entities than the ones that they usually and customarily charged to the public.

According to petitioners, in 2006, respondents’ competitor, Walmart, began offering 30-day supplies of many drugs for $4. To compete with Walmart, SuperValu and Safeway adopted price-match programs in which their pharmacies would match a competitor’s lower price at a customer’s request. SuperValu’s pharmacies would then automatically apply that price to future refills of the drug for those customers. Meanwhile, Safeway also adopted a “membership” discount program through which customers received discounted generic drug prices (often $4 for a 30-day supply). To enroll in that membership program, customers had to fill out a form with only basic information; petitioners argue that Safeway often already had this information on file. SuperValu’s programs continued until 2016; Safeway’s continued until 2015.

Respondents’ discount programs turned out to be popular. Though the exact extent of that popularity is disputed, petitioners have presented evidence that the discounted prices comprised a majority of sales for many drugs to customers who paid in cash (and not through insurance) for at least some years during the programs’ operation. For example, according to petitioners, a majority of SuperValu’s 2012 cash sales for 44 of its 50 top-selling prescription