Attorney General Andy Beshear today announced his office is returning more than $12 million to state and federal Medicaid programs to resolve multistate claims that pharmaceutical company Mylan Inc. violated federal law by knowingly misclassifying EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. as a generic drug to avoid paying higher rebates owed to Medicaid.
Under the $12.2 million Kentucky settlement, $8.5 million will be returned to the federal Medicaid program and $3.7 million will be returned to Kentucky’s Medicaid program.
“Medicaid and its expansion provide a critical service that helps Kentucky’s most vulnerable citizens,” Beshear said. “As Attorney General, I am committed to holding any company that defrauds Medicaid accountable. The actions of companies like Mylan defraud not only the government but the people government serves.”
According to the $465 million nationwide settlement, Mylan demanded massive price increases in the private market while avoiding its corresponding rebate obligations to Medicaid from 2010-2017 by erroneously reporting EpiPen as a generic drug despite the absence of any therapeutically equivalent drugs.
Federal law requires companies of single-source, or brand name, drugs to pay higher rebates to Medicaid.
Beshear’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Unit is charged with investigating and prosecuting any health care provider who fraudulently bills or abuses the Medicaid system.
To date, Beshear’s office has obtained settlements that will return over $64 million to taxpayers through recoveries of state and federal Medicaid funds, Medicare funds, and other funds through civil settlements and obligations of criminal restitution.
Office of the Attorney General
