Maine looks to Wyeth for reimbursement

The state of Maine is joining 16 other states in filing a suit against Wyeth. According to the law suit, Wyeth has avoided paying the states their Medicaid reimbursements for the antacid drug Protonix.

According to the article:
Between 2001 and 2006, Wyeth offered discounted prices to thousands of hospitals in the country but did not report those discounts or pass along the benefits of lower prices to state Medicaid programs.

The US District Court of Massachusetts is looking at this law suit in addition to a second. Read the full article here.

Wyeth called out by Medicaid

According to The AP, Wyeth cheated Medicaid out of millions of dollars by overcharging for a the stomach acid drug Protonix. The Justice Department has joined in two lawsuits that were started by whistle blowers.

The court papers claim that between 2000 and 2006, Wyeth offered steep discounts to thousands of hospitals for two versions of Protonix, a drug that suppresses stomach acid.

By law, manufacturers of brand-name drugs are required to offer the same rebates to state Medicaid programs that they provide to other customers.

The government claims the maneuver helped the company avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid, a health care program for the poor that is funded by state and federal money.

Read the full story here.