Government
California accuses 39 drug companies of defrauding Medi-Cal
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Sept. 19, 2005
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer sued 39 drug companies in August, accusing the pharmaceutical manufacturers of defrauding Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, alleges the companies manipulated drug prices, which caused the Medi-Cal program to pay inflated rates and bilked California taxpayers out of potentially hundreds of millions of dollars. The lawsuit also alleges the companies provided false, inflated drug pricing data knowing that the state relied on that information to set reimbursement rates.
"This scheme ... is jeopardizing the public health by diverting money away from patient care," Lockyer said in a statement. "The amount of money that drug companies have cheated out of California could have been better spent on ensuring that every child in this state has access to health care."
The lawsuit amends a complaint California filed against two drug companies two years ago by adding about three dozen more companies.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/09/19/gvbf0919.htm.
