Drug Company Pays Mo. And Kan. Millions For Medicaid Fraud Claims

Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay Missouri over 11 million dollars and Kansas nearly 3 million dollars. The money is part of nationwide settlement over allegations that the company took part in illegal practices, like off label marketing and bribing pharmacies to sell its products. Missouri Attorney General spokesman Scott Holste says the company was also accused of charging Medicaid programs too much for its drugs.

Holste: That they would report prices that were substantially higher than the prices at which the drugs were actually sold. As a result, Medicaid paid inflated prices for drugs from BMS.

Holste says the money from the drug company settlement will go back into Missouri's Medicaid program. Kansas officials have yet to report what the state plans to do with its money.

Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.

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