Walgreens to Pay $50M to Settle Anti-Kickback Suit

Walgreen Co. (“Walgreens”) has agreed to pay $50 million to settle allegations that it gave kickbacks to government health care beneficiaries who it enrolled in its Prescription Savings Club (PCS) discount and incentives program. The government specifically alleges that Walgreens violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and False Claims Act (FCA) by providing government beneficiaries with discounts and other monetary incentives under the PSC program, to induce them to patronize Walgreens’ pharmacies for all of their prescription drug needs. The government also alleged that Walgreens understood that permitting government beneficiaries to participate in the PSC program was a violation of the AKS, but that it nevertheless marketed the program to government beneficiaries and paid its employees bonuses for each customer they enrolled in the program, without verifying whether the customers were government beneficiaries. Allegations Found in the Complaint As alleged in the Complaint and set forth in the parties’ Settlement Agreement, both of which have been filed in Manhattan federal court: Walgreens launched the PSC program in 2007. From January 2007 through December 2010, the PSC program provided members with discounts on thousands of brand-name and generic drugs, as well as a 10 percent rebate on all Walgreens’ branded products, including household products, baby-care products, most grocery items, and non-prescription medications. Walgreens intended these lower drug...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs