AstraZeneca will pay nearly $34 million to resolve allegations it used illegal kickbacks to influence prescriptions reimbursed by Texas Medicaid.
Texas sued AstraZeneca under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act, alleging the drugmaker provided free nursing services and reimbursement support to prescribers and paid third parties to deploy nurses and other healthcare professionals to recommend AstraZeneca drugs under the guise of nonbranded counseling, according to a June 29 news release from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
According to the state, the alleged inducements were intended to steer providers toward prescribing AstraZeneca drugs, resulting in millions of dollars in Texas Medicaid claims that were tainted by the kickback scheme.
Under the settlement, AstraZeneca will pay $33,998,000 to resolve the state’s claims. The settlement follows a similar Texas lawsuit against Eli Lilly, which the state accused of using free nurse and reimbursement-support programs to steer providers toward prescribing its drugs, including the GLP-1s Mounjaro and Zepbound, tainting Texas Medicaid claims.
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