July 12, 2012
A decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a decision that found Pfizer subsidiary, Pharmacia, Inc., guilty of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program by inflating wholesale prices of medications to increase kickbacks that doctors, pharmacists, and the drug manufacturer would receive. According to an article by WISHTV 8 News, the kickbacks influenced the drugs that doctors prescribed which could have led to improper care and cases of Wisconsin personal injury.
The lawsuit cited multiple examples of medical fraud. It claimed that dating back to 2004, Pharmacia, Inc. had been listing the wholesale price of the drug Adriamycin, used in the treatment of breast cancer, at $241.36. The company would then sell the drug for $33.43 and use the $207 remainder as a selling point to those looking to receive kickbacks from Medicaid for prescribing the medications.
A jury found Pharmacia, Inc. guilty of 4,578 Medicare fraud violations, and the company was ordered to pay $13.5 million in damages. The company appealed the decision on the basis that the jury had incorrectly calculated the fraud counts, but the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision.
The Green Bay injury lawyers with Sigman Janssen Injury & Disability Lawyers say that just having a doctor’s prescription for a medication doesn’t make it is safe to take. That is why the firm suggests educating yourself on the side effects of a medication before beginning your regimen and discussing any concerns you have with your doctor.
