Kansas settles Medicaid fraud case against Walgreens
TOPEKA, Kan. – Attorney General Kris Kobach announced today that Kansas has joined the United States, the District of Colombia, and several states in settling allegations against Walgreens.
Under the terms of the agreement, Walgreens—which operates one of the largest retail pharmacy chains in the country—will pay $97.8 million to resolve allegations that it unlawfully billed government health care programs for prescriptions that were never collected or otherwise received by patients.
The settlement agreement will resolve allegations set forth in two lawsuits: United States ex rel. Turck and United States, et al. ex rel. Jacob v. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc,. These lawsuits specifically allege that between 2009 and 2020, Walgreens unlawfully billed Medicare, Medicaid, and other government healthcare programs for prescription drugs that were never picked up by beneficiaries. As a result of this unlawful conduct, Walgreens received tens of millions of dollars for uncollected prescriptions that it never actually provided to patients.
After the suits were filed, Walgreens implemented enhancements to its billing systems designed to prevent any future unlawful billing for uncollected prescriptions.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Walgreens received credit for self-disclosing certain claims, and for previously refunding $66.3 million in connection with the settled claims. The total recovery for all Medicaid programs under the settlement is $9.6 million. Of that amount, Kansas will receive $10,000 in restitution and other recoveries, which is based on the number of unfilled prescriptions in the state.
A National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) Team investigated the allegations in conjunction with the Department of Justice and United States Attorneys’ Offices in Texas and Florida. The NAMFCU Team included representatives from the respective Office of the Attorney General for the states of Wisconsin, California, Texas, Maine, Oregon, and Massachusetts.
The Kansas Attorney General Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Division receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant totaling $2,392,260 for Federal fiscal year 2025. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $797,416, is funded by the state of Kansas.