Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed another lawsuit on behalf of the State of Texas charging several generic drug manufacturers with reporting false, inflated drug prices to the Texas Medicaid program. The enforcement action names the following defendants: Watson/Schein Pharmaceuticals Inc. of California; Alpharma Inc. of New Jersey; Par Pharmaceutical Inc. of New Jersey; and Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. of New York. This is just another case based on the companies reporting false prices to the state Medicaid programs.

The Texas Attorney General had previously taken successful action against numerous defendants for launching similar drug-pricing schemes. Among these are Schering-Plough/Warrick Pharmaceuticals in May 2004 ($27 million); Dey Inc. in June 2003 ($18.5 million); Boehringer Ingelheim/Roxane Laboratories in November 2005 ($10 million); and Baxter Healthcare Corp. in June 2006 ($8.5 million). The Attorney General’s lawsuits against B Braun Medical Inc. of Pennsylvania and Abbott Laboratories Inc. of Illinois remain pending. Texas will also receive funds from the BMS settlement referred to above. That amount is believed to be $17 million.

It’s significant that Texas has a law on the books that gives that state’s Attorney General a great deal of help in bringing corporate cheaters to justice. With the passage of amendments to the Texas Medicaid Fraud Prevention Act in 1997, the Texas Legislature paved the way for whistleblower lawsuits involving industry insiders. The Alabama Legislature should pass similar legislation which would be a great benefit to Alabama taxpayers in combating fraud in the Medicaid program. To obtain more information about the Attorney General’s efforts to fight Medicaid fraud in Texas, access the agency’s Web site at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.

Source: Texas Attorney General Press Release

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