Schmidt
TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced on Friday that his office has recovered $1.4 million for the Kansas Medicaid program as part of a settlement with a pharmaceutical company.
Schmidt filed a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingleheim, accusing the company of using deceptive practices that caused the Kansas Medicaid program to overpay reimbursements for drugs supplied by the company.
"We take seriously our responsibility to protect Kansas taxpayers from costs and expenses that they are not obligated to pay," Schmidt said. "This recovery sends a strong signal that Kansas is serious about protecting the public treasury and, ultimately, the state's taxpayers."
A total of 38 lawsuits have been filed by his office alleging the artificial inflation of the average wholesale price of drugs on which the Medicaid reimbursement rates are set. As of this week, 12 of these cases have been settled, resulting in $15.8 million in recoveries for the Kansas Medicaid program while the other cases remain pending.
Schmidt made healthcare a cornerstone of his policy upon running to the attorney general position, especially against the federal health care law. Schmidt said that the federal health care law would result in Medicaid costs for Kansas taxpayers increasing between $160 million and $260 million, threatening funding for all other state priorities.