Texas will recover nearly $34 million from AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP under a settlement resolving allegations that the drugmaker used an illegal kickback scheme to influence prescriptions covered by the state’s Medicaid program.
The settlement requires AstraZeneca to pay $33,998,000 to resolve claims brought under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act, according to the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
The agreement resolves the state’s claims that AstraZeneca improperly induced health care providers to prescribe its medications, resulting in millions of dollars in Texas Medicaid claims.
According to the attorney general’s office, AstraZeneca provided free nursing services and reimbursement support to prescribers and paid third parties to deploy nurses and other health care professionals to medical providers.
The state alleged those services were presented as non-branded counseling but were designed to encourage providers to prescribe AstraZeneca drugs.
Texas contended that many of the resulting prescriptions were covered by Medicaid, resulting in millions of dollars in claims improperly influenced by the alleged inducements.
The settlement resolves the state’s claims without further litigation.
Attorney General Ken Paxton said the settlement reflects the state’s commitment to combating Medicaid fraud and protecting public funds.
“I will not allow Big Pharma to misuse taxpayer dollars to put profit ahead of Texans’ health,” Paxton said in a statement. “My office will continue aggressively pursuing healthcare fraud to protect taxpayer dollars and the integrity of our healthcare system.”
The attorney general’s office said the AstraZeneca settlement is part of its broader effort to investigate and pursue pharmaceutical companies accused of violating Texas law through improper marketing and prescribing practices.
According to the office, Texas has also filed legal actions against Eli Lilly, Sanofi-Aventis, and other drug manufacturers, alleging they used unlawful inducements to encourage medical providers to prescribe their products.
