New York-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced settlements totaling $28 million with two pharmaceutical companies that ripped off taxpayers and the Medicaid system.
In two multi-state agreements, Dava Pharmaceuticals Inc. and KV Pharmaceutical Company will pay back New York for separate violations of the False Claims Act.
The Attorney General noted that Dava misclassified drugs to evade paying its obligations to Medicaid, and KV failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that two unapproved drugs did not qualify for coverage under federal and state health care programs, allowing the company to accept taxpayer money unlawfully. The portion of the settlements going to New York State is more than $2.5 million.
Attorney General Schneiderman's office reached a settlement with Dava Pharmaceuticals regarding charges that the Delaware-based corporation underpaid their rebate obligations through the Medicaid Prescription Drug Rebate Program between October 1, 2005 and September 30, 2009.
In the federal and multistate agreement, Dava will pay a total of $11 million in damages to compensate Medicaid and various federal healthcare programs for its conduct. New York State will receive $1.32 million.
In the office's agreement with KV Pharmaceutical Company, Attorney General Schneiderman settled charges that the company failed to advise the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that two unapproved products did not qualify for coverage under federal and state health care programs. KV, which was the St. Louis-based parent company of the now-defunct Ethex Corporation, will pay a total of $17 million to compensate Medicaid and various federal healthcare programs for its conduct. New York State will receive $1.19 million.
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