Md. AG Announces $209M Nationwide Settlement With Walgreens Over Fraudulent Insulin Pens
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced Friday that Maryland, with the federal government and other states, has reached a $209.2 million nationwide settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance over allegations of engaging in fraudulent scheme to over-dispense insulin pens to Medicare and Medicaid recipients.
Maryland will receive $266,951, which will be shared with the federal government.
The settlement resolves allegations that rather than dispensing the quantity of insulin called for by patients' insulin pen prescriptions, Walgreens exceeded the prescription amount and falsified information on claims submitted for Medicaid reimbursement, including the quantity of insulin and days' supply dispensed.
"Walgreens was engaged in straight up fraud. It cheated the state and the Marylanders who depend upon Medicaid for health care," said Attorney General Frosh.
Walgreens admitted to multiple statements including programming its computer system to define a full box of five insulin pens as the minimum dispensing package size.
This prevented Walgreens pharmacists from being able to dispense fewer than five pens even though a patient's prescription called for less pens than five.
Walgreens repeatedly reported information to state Medicaid programs different from and lower than the correctly calculated supply according to standard pharmacy practice, and as required by state pharmacy laws.
This resulted in state Medicaid programs paying for a substantial number of claims that the programs would not have approved if Walgreens had reported the correct supply of medication based on the prescription, according to the settlement.
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