Ohio’s Medicaid program will get $40 million from a $3 billion national health-care fraud settlement with drug maker GlaxoSmithKline, Attorney General Mike DeWine said today.
It is the largest health-care settlement in U.S. history, DeWine said.
The agreement resolves complaints that the British-based drug company used illegal schemes to price and market several drugs. GSK will pay states and the U.S. government, including the Medicaid program, $2 billion in damages and civil penalties.
“GlaxoSmithKline illegally marketed several prescription drugs for ailments the medications werenot intended to treat,” DeWine said in a statement. “The medicines were then overprescribed and paid for with Ohio taxpayer dollars. Today I’m happy to say that we are getting that taxpayer money back.”
Ohio Medicaid will receive $40.3 million, including the state’s $16.7 million share of the state-federal program for the poor and disabled.
The drug company also agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to drug labeling and reporting and will pay $1 billion in criminal fines.
In suing GSK, the state and feds accused the company of “unlawfully marketing certain drugs for uses for which the drugs were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration; making false representations regarding the safety and efficacy of certain drugs; offering kickbacks to medical professionals; and underpaying rebates owed to government programs for various drugs paid for by Medicaid and other federally-funded health care programs.”
Several of the company’s drugs, including Paxil and Wellbutrin, anti-depressants; Advair, an anti-asthma drug; Lamictal, medication to prevent seizures; and Zofran, an anti-nausea drug, were promoted for a variety of unauthorized uses.
GXK also was accused of improperly giving kickbacks to health-care professionals, including cash and travel, to promote their products.
Ohio was one of five states that participated in the investigation, along with federal agencies.
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Ohio to get $40 million from health-care fraud settlement
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