AstraZeneca has settled with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly $34 million over claims that the company engaged in a kickback scheme tied to prescriptions paid for by Texas Medicaid.
AstraZeneca is known for producing drugs to treat various types of cancer and for a widely distributed COVID-19 vaccine.
Paxton sued AstraZeneca under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. The THFPA ensures that information provided by doctors is accurate and not misleading by targeting fraud, false claims, and illegal kickbacks. The suit alleged AstraZeneca was engaging in an illegal kickback scheme for doctors who prescribed its medications to patients, often funded by the state’s Medicaid program.
“Texas’s lawsuit alleged that AstraZeneca provided free nursing services and reimbursement support to prescribers and paid third parties to deploy nurses and other healthcare professionals to recommend AstraZeneca drugs to medical providers under the guise of non-branded counseling,” according to an OAG release.
AstraZeneca will pay Texas $33,998,000 to resolve the state’s claims and reimburse the state for Medicaid funds the attorney general alleged were improperly influenced.
“I will not allow Big Pharma to misuse taxpayer dollars to put profit ahead of Texans’ health,” stated Paxton. “My office will continue aggressively pursuing healthcare fraud to protect taxpayer dollars and the integrity of our healthcare system.”
A spokesperson for AstraZeneca told Texas Scorecard the company “denies these claims and continues to firmly believe our programs are lawful, ethical and address an area of unmet need for patients. We remain committed to operating with integrity, in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, and to continuing to bring innovative medicines to the patients who need them.”
The OAG has also filed lawsuits against corporations such as Sanofi-Aventis and Eli Lilly, as part of a broader effort to combat healthcare fraud in Texas.
Sanofi is a multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical corporation that creates drugs to treat chronic diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis. The corporation also allegedly created “free” nursing programs for nurses who promoted Sanofi drugs.
Eli Lilly produces weight loss medications known as GLP-1s, which are marketed under names such as Mounjaro and Zepbound. Eli Lilly also allegedly provided reimbursement and free nursing programs, which further influenced doctors to prescribe the corporation’s drugs.
“Eli Lilly fraudulently sought to maximize profits at taxpayer expense and put corporate greed over people’s health. I will not stand by while corporations unlawfully manipulate our healthcare system to line their own pockets,” said Paxton.
Paxton has also taken legal action against Eli Lilly in the past. The company produces insulin and allegedly entered into contracts with pharmaceutical companies, such as CVS, to artificially raise the price of the life-saving drug to skim additional profits.
