Walgreens pays $106.8 million to settle alleged violations of the Act

On September 14, Walgreens Boots Alliance, along with its subsidiary Walgreen Co. operating as Walgreens, reached a settlement amounting to $106.8 million to address alleged violations of the False Claims Act and state regulations. These violations pertained to the retail pharmacy improperly billing federal healthcare programs for prescriptions that customers did not collect.

Settlement Announcement

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) made the settlement announcement, revealing that Walgreens had submitted false claims for payments to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs over a span of eleven years, from 2009 to 2020. This billing was for prescriptions that the pharmacy processed but were never picked up by the patients.

The DOJ's statement underscored the magnitude of the malpractice, stating, "As a result, Walgreens received tens of millions of dollars for prescriptions that it never actually provided to healthcare beneficiaries."

Recovery Efforts and Compliance

In a proactive move, Walgreens had already taken measures prior to the settlement, including refunding $66.32 million and making changes to its electronic pharmacy management system to prevent any future instances of false billings. U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez of New Mexico emphasized the critical nature of federal healthcare programs when expressing that "fraudulently billing for prescriptions which are never dispensed endangers the integrity of these critical programs."