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One smart Pharmacist making $10.4 million - CVS must not have checked his record from Omnicare Inc.?
CVS Caremark Reaches Settlement
By HEATHER WON TESORIERO and DAVID ARMSTRONG
March 19, 2008; Page D8
CVS Caremark Corp. will pay $36.7 million to settle allegations that it
improperly switched customers to a more-expensive form of a drug paid for by
Medicaid, the government program that provides health care to low-income
people. A lawsuit alleging fraud by the chain-drugstore company was brought
by an Illinois pharmacist and joined by the federal government and 23 states
that paid for the medication.
The complaint, filed in 2003 in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois,
alleges CVS pharmacies switched Medicaid patients taking the generic form of
stomach medication Zantac to capsules from tablets. Medicaid sets maximum
reimbursement prices for the tablet form of the drug but not for capsules,
which are more expensive but prescribed less frequently by doctors.
The suit alleges that the switch cost taxpayers as much as 400% more than
what would have been paid for tablets. The pill-switching allegedly took
place from April 1, 1999, through Dec. 31, 2006.
The case was brought by Bernard Lisitza, who worked as a pharmacist
processing CVS prescriptions. Mr. Lisitza previously filed a suit against
pharmacy company Omnicare Inc. that settled in 2006 for $50 million. Both
suits were filed under the False Claims Act, which allows people to file
claims alleging fraud against the government and lets them recover a share
of any payments.
Mr. Lisitza received a $6.4 million share of the Omnicare settlement,
according to a U.S. Justice Department news release. His attorney, Michael
Behn, said his client's share of the CVS settlement will be $4.3 million.
"Switching medications from tablets to capsules might seem harmless, but
when that is done solely to increase profit and in violation of federal and
state regulations that are designed to protect patients, pharmacies must
know that they are subjecting themselves to the possibility of triple
damages, civil penalties and attorney fees," said Patrick J. Fitzgerald,
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
CVS, which operates some 6,000 pharmacies in the U.S., denied engaging in
any wrongful conduct. The Woonsocket, R.I., company said it purchased and
stocked the capsule form of ranitidine in all its stores because the
acquisition cost of the capsules was lower than that of the tablets. It
denies it dispensed capsules to increase Medicaid reimbursement.
CVS, which had profit of $2.6 billion on revenue of $76.3 billion in 2007,
said the settlement wouldn't have any effect on 2008 earnings.
By HEATHER WON TESORIERO and DAVID ARMSTRONG
March 19, 2008; Page D8
CVS Caremark Corp. will pay $36.7 million to settle allegations that it
improperly switched customers to a more-expensive form of a drug paid for by
Medicaid, the government program that provides health care to low-income
people. A lawsuit alleging fraud by the chain-drugstore company was brought
by an Illinois pharmacist and joined by the federal government and 23 states
that paid for the medication.
The complaint, filed in 2003 in U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois,
alleges CVS pharmacies switched Medicaid patients taking the generic form of
stomach medication Zantac to capsules from tablets. Medicaid sets maximum
reimbursement prices for the tablet form of the drug but not for capsules,
which are more expensive but prescribed less frequently by doctors.
The suit alleges that the switch cost taxpayers as much as 400% more than
what would have been paid for tablets. The pill-switching allegedly took
place from April 1, 1999, through Dec. 31, 2006.
The case was brought by Bernard Lisitza, who worked as a pharmacist
processing CVS prescriptions. Mr. Lisitza previously filed a suit against
pharmacy company Omnicare Inc. that settled in 2006 for $50 million. Both
suits were filed under the False Claims Act, which allows people to file
claims alleging fraud against the government and lets them recover a share
of any payments.
Mr. Lisitza received a $6.4 million share of the Omnicare settlement,
according to a U.S. Justice Department news release. His attorney, Michael
Behn, said his client's share of the CVS settlement will be $4.3 million.
"Switching medications from tablets to capsules might seem harmless, but
when that is done solely to increase profit and in violation of federal and
state regulations that are designed to protect patients, pharmacies must
know that they are subjecting themselves to the possibility of triple
damages, civil penalties and attorney fees," said Patrick J. Fitzgerald,
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.
CVS, which operates some 6,000 pharmacies in the U.S., denied engaging in
any wrongful conduct. The Woonsocket, R.I., company said it purchased and
stocked the capsule form of ranitidine in all its stores because the
acquisition cost of the capsules was lower than that of the tablets. It
denies it dispensed capsules to increase Medicaid reimbursement.
CVS, which had profit of $2.6 billion on revenue of $76.3 billion in 2007,
said the settlement wouldn't have any effect on 2008 earnings.
