Walgreen pays $9.9M for false Medicaid claims

WASHINGTON D.C. Walgreen Co. paid the U.S. government and four states $9.9 million on Monday to resolve allegations it submitted false billings under the Medicaid low-income health program, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The department said Walgreen submitted claims to Medicaid agencies in four states for prescription drugs for people covered by both Medicaid and private third-party insurance. Walgreen then charged the states for the difference between what the private insurers paid and what the state programs would have paid in the absence of private insurance, the department said.