BATON ROUGE - Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a cease and desist to CVS over texts the company sent to Louisiana customers regarding a bill that would've banned certain companies from owning pharmacies in the state.

On Wednesday, the Louisiana House approved a bill, HB 358, that would've banned pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies in the state. CVS Health, one of the nation's largest PBMs, sent a text to customers saying the bill, if it passes, would force over 100 Louisiana locations to close.

"Last minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close your CVS Pharmacy - your medication cost may go up and your pharmacist may lose their job," CVS said in a text. "Contact your elected officials to protect your access."

Murrill's cease and desist letter alleges CVS' use of phone number collection to send the text was "unsolicited and unwanted text messages" sent for "political reasons." It also said the text contained "inaccurate and deceptive statements regarding [HB 358]".

"The use of personal and sensitive contact information of Louisiana citizens in such a manner is inappropriate and in violation of Louisiana law," the letter said.

HB 358 failed due to time constraints, but a separate bill passed requiring more transparency from those pharmacies rather than outright banning them.