Evelyn here,
with the Attorney General Bill McCollum's message.on Walgreens' financial $35 millions restitution several states across the nation.
Bill McCollum
Attorney General
News Release
__________________________________________________________
Date of release: June 4, 2008
Attorney General McCollum Recovers $9.8 Million for Florida from Walgreens
Settlement
TALLAHASSEE, FL – Attorney General Bill McCollum today announced that
Florida will receive more than $9.8 million from a $35-million multistate
settlement with Walgreens over claims the company switched dosage forms for
several medications commonly prescribed for Medicaid recipients. The
switches allegedly caused Medicaid programs nationwide to pay substantially
more for these drugs than necessary. Florida’s civil case was handled by
the Attorney General’s Complex Civil Enforcement Bureau, which is part of
the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
“Florida will not tolerate activities that undermine its Medicaid
program and pass increases along to our taxpayers,” said Attorney General
McCollum.
Today’s settlement is the result of a joint federal-state
investigation that was initiated by the filing of a false claims act
lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago in 2003. The lawsuit alleged
Walgreens filled prescriptions for numerous Medicaid recipients by
aggressively switching dosage forms of ranitidine, the generic form of
Zantac, a commonly-prescribed anti-ulcer medication; fluoxetine, the
generic form of Prozac; and selegiline, the generic form of Eldepryl, which
used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and senile dementia. This
conduct allegedly violated various federal and state statutes and
regulations.
Government investigators contended that these improper practices
continued from July 2001 through 2005, and that the wholesale substitution
of alternate dosage forms of these drugs resulted in higher payments under
the automated Medicaid reimbursement system, with no corresponding medical
benefit to the individuals receiving the prescriptions. The settlement also
resolves allegations that Walgreens made these wholesale switches without
physician involvement and therefore violated numerous state regulations
governing pharmaceutical dispensing.
In addition to the payment of cash settlements to the state and
federal governments, Walgreens has agreed to the terms of a corporate
integrity agreement with the Office of the Inspector General of the United
States Department of Health and Human Services. The agreement will include
provisions to ensure that Walgreens does not switch dosage forms of
medications if the result would increase the costs to third-party payers,
including Medicaid, and will subject the company’s billing practices to
ongoing federal scrutiny. Of Florida’s share of the settlement, the state’s
Medicaid program will receive more than $1.8 million in recoveries; over
$1.8 million in damages will be awarded to the state’s general revenue
fund; and $100,000 will reimburse the state for the cost of its
investigation. The remaining settlement funds will be allocated to the
Federal Medicaid program.
This settlement is the third and final in a series resulting from
investigations of similar conduct by pharmacy providers nationwide.
Together, the three cases have brought back more than $120 million to
Medicaid programs around the country. The settlement was the result of
negotiations jointly conducted by the United States Attorney’s Office for
the Northern District of Illinois and the National Association of Medicaid
Fraud Control Units, with the Attorneys General of Florida, Ohio, Illinois,
Massachusetts, and Texas leading the effort for the states.
In addition to those states named above, participating states also
include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho,
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota,
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
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Evelyn out.
