ALBANY, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - A Walgreens-owned pharmacy will pay back $22.4 million to New York's Medicaid program for allegedly filing false billings to the program, said New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on July 10.
The investigation into Trinity Homecare started with a whistleblower claim of improper conduct and false billings, and it led to Schneiderman's office investigating the claims. The investigation centered around the drug Synagis, which is used to treat some at-risk premature infants. The drug can cost as much as $2,000 per dose.
Schneiderman said the settlement with Trinity Homecare resolves accusations of improper prescriptions and billings for patients throughout the state. Schneiderman added Trinity couldn't provide basic documentation for the Medicaid claims it submitted, nor could it provide proof that the drug was delivered to the patients.
“The claims under investigation in this case were for a drug that is supposed to help some premature babies,” Schneiderman said. “It turned out that the pharmacy did not always have a prescription for that drug but billed Medicaid for it anyway. Of greater concern than the improper billing, is the possibility that infants could have received injections which were not properly prescribed to them.”
This is the second settlement reached with the company in as many weeks. On June 29, Trinity repaid $2.5 million to the Medicaid program for not being able to provide documentation that it delivered expensive drugs for hemophilia patients, Schneiderman said.