Utah Attorney General Recovers $1 Million Medicaid Settlement
Office of the Attorney General
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced today a $1 million civil settlement with drug manufacturer Dey, L.P. for allegedly overcharging Utah’s Medicaid program. The Napa, California based manufacturer of airway and allergy medications agreed to settle with Utah for allegedly:
* Falsely inflating reported drug prices used by Medicaid to determine reimbursement amounts to pharmacies.
* Marketing the spread between Dey’s reported and actual prices to convince pharmacies its products were more profitable than competing products.
“Utah will continue to aggressively pursue those who cheat or game the system to increase their company profits and market share at the expense of taxpayer-funded health care programs,” says Shurtleff.
Utah is one of about 26 states pursuing Average Wholesale Price (AWP) civil litigation against various pharmaceutical manufacturers for falsely reporting drug prices. As is common in such civil settlement agreements, Dey denied any wrongdoing.
Dey is the first company, among about three dozen drug manufacturers sued by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, to finalize a settlement with the state. Negotiations are currently underway with other manufacturers.
“We hope the pharmaceutical industry will take notice and stop any practice that unfairly drives up health care costs,” says Robert Steed, Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. “Dey was one of the smaller drug companies facing a Medicaid lawsuit from the Utah Attorney General’s Office. We fully expect to bring a great deal more money back to Utah’s Medicaid program.”
Shurtleff says the settlement was a joint effort with many state agencies and he offered specific thanks to Dr. David Sundwall, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Health, and Michael Hales, Director of the Division of Health Care Financing, and their staff administering the Utah Medicaid program. “It would be very difficult for my office to pursue these civil Medicaid fraud cases without their full support and cooperation. It has been very helpful and is very much
appreciated.”
The Utah Attorney General’s Office oversees the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to protect the integrity of Utah’s Medicaid program. The public can learn more about Medicaid fraud or report abuse at: http://www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov/145.html.
For more information about this article contact:
Scott Troxel
801-538-1753
stroxel@utah.gov
For Immediate Release
September 17, 2009
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced today a $1 million civil settlement with drug manufacturer Dey, L.P. for allegedly overcharging Utah’s Medicaid program. The Napa, California based manufacturer of airway and allergy medications agreed to settle with Utah for allegedly:
* Falsely inflating reported drug prices used by Medicaid to determine reimbursement amounts to pharmacies.
* Marketing the spread between Dey’s reported and actual prices to convince pharmacies its products were more profitable than competing products.
“Utah will continue to aggressively pursue those who cheat or game the system to increase their company profits and market share at the expense of taxpayer-funded health care programs,” says Shurtleff.
Utah is one of about 26 states pursuing Average Wholesale Price (AWP) civil litigation against various pharmaceutical manufacturers for falsely reporting drug prices. As is common in such civil settlement agreements, Dey denied any wrongdoing.
Dey is the first company, among about three dozen drug manufacturers sued by the Utah Attorney General’s Office, to finalize a settlement with the state. Negotiations are currently underway with other manufacturers.
“We hope the pharmaceutical industry will take notice and stop any practice that unfairly drives up health care costs,” says Robert Steed, Assistant Attorney General and Director of the Utah Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. “Dey was one of the smaller drug companies facing a Medicaid lawsuit from the Utah Attorney General’s Office. We fully expect to bring a great deal more money back to Utah’s Medicaid program.”
Shurtleff says the settlement was a joint effort with many state agencies and he offered specific thanks to Dr. David Sundwall, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Health, and Michael Hales, Director of the Division of Health Care Financing, and their staff administering the Utah Medicaid program. “It would be very difficult for my office to pursue these civil Medicaid fraud cases without their full support and cooperation. It has been very helpful and is very much
appreciated.”
The Utah Attorney General’s Office oversees the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to protect the integrity of Utah’s Medicaid program. The public can learn more about Medicaid fraud or report abuse at: http://www.attorneygeneral.utah.gov/145.html.
For more information about this article contact:
Scott Troxel
801-538-1753
stroxel@utah.gov
