Pennsylvania will receive $90,000 as part of a settlement the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control and the federal government recently reached with pharmaceutical manufacturer Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
Daiichi Sankyo allegedly violated federal law by giving out speaker program fees and lavish meals as kickbacks in return for physicians selling the prescription drugs Azor, Welchol, Tribenzor and Benicar.
In addition to paying Pennsylvania, Daiichi Sankyo will also pay 48 other states, Washington, D.C. and the federal government a total of $39 million in civil damages and penalties for Medicaid and other health care programs that are funded by the government.
A former company sales representative filed a whistle blower complaint in 2010, which led to an investigation into alleged false claims by Daiichi Sankyo. Doctors allegedly received the kickbacks for participating in speaking programs from 2011 to 2014.
In addition to the settlement, Daiichi Sankyo will enter into a corporate integrity agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General. The agreement requires the company to make substantial internal compliance reforms over the next five years.
Approximately $10 million of the settlement was for the Medicaid portion for both federal and state, and the states' share of that recovery is approximately $5 million.