AstraZeneca agreed to pay $34 million to settle claims that the company paid kickbacks to improperly influence prescriptions paid for by Texas Medicaid.
The state had alleged that the drugmaker paid the kickbacks in the form of a free network of nurses and insurance support services to boost prescriptions of its medicines. By doing so, AstraZeneca allegedly helped manage key aspects of patient care that a physician would otherwise have to handle or pay staff to perform.
As a result, the company prompted pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, and others to submit claims to Texas Medicaid for its medicines. Those claims caused the state health care program to disburse millions of dollars in reimbursements that were not authorized under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
