(Reuters) – Managed care giant Centene Corp has agreed to pay $33.3 million to resolve claims that it overcharged Apple Health, Washington state’s Medicaid program, for pharmacy benefit management services, the latest in a string of similar settlements with states.
Under the deal announced Wednesday, the state will receive $19 million and the federal government will receive $13.3 million to be used in its administration of Apple Health, according to the office of Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. A whistleblower who sued the company on behalf of the state will receive $1 million.
t is the second-largest Medicaid fraud settlement in the state’s history, after a $47 million settlement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2016, according Ferguson’s office.
“Medicaid dollars are a precious resource meant to fund care for the most vulnerable among us,” Ferguson said in a statement. “My office works to ensure that these dollars go where they are intended — not toward fraud.”
Source: Centene to pay $33.3 mln to settle Washington Medicaid fraud claims / Reuters