Whistleblower complaint alleges Rx drugmakers underpaid US Medicaid rebates

According to a multi-count whistleblower action in the USA, alleging violations of federal and state False Claims Acts (FCA), more than a dozen top brand-name prescription drug manufacturers in the USA allegedly underpaid rebates to state Medicaid programs over the past seven years. On October 3, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania notified the parties that the whistleblower's Motion for Leave to File the Fourth Amended Complaint was granted.

The Complaint alleges that the defendant pharmaceutical manufacturers manipulated pricing data they report to the government and on which their rebate obligations on drugs they sell through state Medicaid programs are based. The defendants, the Complaint alleges, understated their reported average manufacturer prices (AMP), on which their rebate obligations to the state Medicaid programs are calculated. Improperly lowering AMP reduces rebates owed on high-priced pharmaceuticals, in turn, increasing the healthcare burden of the federal and state governments.

Allegedly used service fee deals with wholesalers to reduce AMP