By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On January 22, 2019, Walgreens agreed to pay more than $269 million to settle allegations of False Claims Act (FCA) violations for overbilling of various drugs. The deals are some of the largest pay-outs ever by a retail pharmacy, according to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
The Two Settlements.
There were two separate complaints involving Walgreens to settle federal and state lawsuits that accused the pharmacy of overbilling federal healthcare programs. Both were unsealed by U.S. District Court judges in Manhattan, according to the DOJ.
In the first settlement, Walgreens agreed to pay $209.2 million to the U.S. and several state governments for improperly billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs. The pharmacy is accused of excessive dispensing of insulin pens to beneficiaries who didn’t need them, according to U.S. officials. It reaped improper payments by understating the amount of treatment days covered by supplies of insulin pens. That allowed it to bill for prescriptions that should have been denied as premature, the DOJ said. Click here to visit our website and read the complaint and the stipulation for the first settlement.
In the second settlement, Walgreens agreed to pay $60 million to settle claims of overbilling Medicaid programs through bogus Medicaid price reporting. The retail pharmacy never disclosed or charged the lower drug prices it offered the public through a pharmacy discount program.
According to the DOJ, Walgreens obtained inflated reimbursement amounts because it failed to disclose discounted drug prices in its “Prescription Savings Club.” However, federal prosecutors said Walgreens didn’t disclose the discounted drug price when filing for reimbursement from Medicaid. Click here to visit our website and read the complaint and stipulation for the second settlement.
There are two whistleblowers in the insulin pen case, they will receive a roughly 19 percent cut of the $41 million portion of the settlement that will go to state, a reward of close to $8 million for blowing the whistle. The whistleblower in the Medicaid price reporting case, will receive a $11.4 million reward, according to his attorney. Not bad for a days work!
Walgreens released a statement, saying it was glad to have the matters resolved but admitted to no wrongdoing.
This isn’t the first time Walgreens has been involved in an FCA lawsuit. Click here to read one of my prior blogs on a similar case.
Contact Health Law Attorneys Experienced with Qui Tam or Whistleblower Cases.
Attorneys with The Health Law Firm represent physicians, nurses and other health professionals who desire to file a False Claims Act (whistle blower or qui tam) case. This case just shows that even physicians can and should bring such claims and be rewarded for their whistle blowing activities. However, the attorneys of The Health Law Firm also defend physicians, medical groups and health facilities who have been sued in False Claims Act (whistle blower or qui tam) cases or have had administrative or civil complaints filed against them to recover civil monetary penalties. We have developed relationships with recognized experts in health care accounting, health care financing, utilization review, medical review, filling, coding, and other services that assist us in such matters. We have represented doctors, nurses and others as relators in bringing qui tam or whistle blower cases, as well.
To contact The Health Law Firm, please call (407) 331-6620 or (850) 439-1001 and visit our website at www.TheHealthLawFirm.com.
Sources:
Overley, Jeff. “Walgreens Pays $269M In Milestone FCA Deals.” Law360. (January 22, 2019). Web.
Thomas, Patrick. “Walgreens to Pay $269 Million on Claims It Overcharged Federal Programs.” WSJ. (January 22, 2019). Web.
About the Author: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. He is the President and Managing Partner of The Health Law Firm, which has a national practice. Its main office is in the Orlando, Florida, area. www.TheHealthLawFirm.com The Health Law Firm, 1101 Douglas Ave., Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, Phone: (407) 331-6620.
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