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Walgreens is set to pay $35 million to settle a Medicaid fraud lawsuit.
Walgreens, which operates over 5,000 retail pharmacies throughout the U.S., switched the prescriptions for Medicaid patients who were prescribed 150 mg or 300 mg tablets of Ranitidine to more expensive capsules; prescriptions for 10 mg or 20 mg capsules of Fluoxetine to more expensive tablets; and prescriptions for 5 mg tablets of Eldepryl to more expensive capsules. By switching the form of the drug dispensed to Medicaid patients, Walgreens substantially increased its reimbursement from Medicaid while providing no additional medical benefit to patients.
The Deerfield-based company agreed to pay a $18.6 million federal settlement, $16.4 million to 46 states and Puerto Rico, and $5 million to the whistle-blower pharmacist who first filed the suit.
Yes, this is just like the recently settled CVS case. [FBI]
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Is switiching like that quiditch game?
What this story reminds of is that CVS was exposed for doing the same thing a few years ago.
At that time, my pride in Chicago-born Walgreens made me sneer at CVS. Now it turns out I had nothing to sneer about.
The problem with the CVS case and with the Walgreens case is that fines are given to the company, hitting the shareholders in the pocket, while there will be no criminal charges against the persons who actually perpetrated the fraud.