Washington gets $21M share of Medicaid fraud settlement

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Washington state will receive a $21.4 million share from a state and federal settlement with Johnson & Johnson and a subsidiary over false or fraudulent claims to government programs related to anti-psychotic drugs.

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Tuesday that New Jersey-based pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreed to pay a total of $1.72 billion in a settlement related to claims made to government programs, including state Medicaid programs.

Ferguson said the anti-psychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega were used for off-label purposes not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, including treatment of elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The government also said that the companies made illegal kickbacks to health-care professionals and long-term-care pharmacy providers.

Washington's share of the settlement is $21.4 million. Of this amount, about $10.5 million will be deposited in the Medicaid Fraud Penalty account to be used for fraud detection and enforcement as well as Medicaid services, the state attorney general's office said.

The remainder of about $10.9 million will be returned to the federal government for administration of Medicaid in Washington state. The federal government generally pays about half of the state's Medicaid costs.

http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/health-care-inc/2013/11/washington-wins-21m-share-of-medicaid.html?ana=e_ptl_hc

[eridani]

1. This is why it's important to have Dem AGs at the state level n/t