National Chain Pharmacy Over-Bills Medicare and Medicaid for Insulin Pens

Walgreens, the nation’s second largest pharmacy chain, paid $209 million in January 2019 to settle allegations by two VSG clients that the pharmacy knowingly billed government health programs for medically unnecessary quantities of insulin pens. The whistleblowers, both of whom worked for Walgreens, claimed that Walgreens programmed its dispensing and billing software program so that pharmacists could not dispense less than 5 insulin pens at a time – the amount in a carton of pens, understated the dispensed “days’ supply”  on claims to payers, and then refilled prescriptions prematurely.
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