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Ohio AG Settles With Pharmacy Benefits Manager For $88.3 Million
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio has settled a lawsuit filed just three months ago with a pharmacy benefits manager it accused of using subcontractors to overcharge Ohio’s Medicaid program.
Attorney General Dave Yost said Centene initiated the talks that led to the $88.3 million settlement.
“We didn’t seek out a settlement. Centene initiated the negotiations and said, ‘what’s is going to take to resolve this matter?’” Yost said in announcing the settlement.
It was great to have media back in the Rhodes Tower today while AG Yost announced the $88 million settlement with Centene following a lawsuit filed in March that alleged the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) overbilled @OhioMedicaid for pharmacy services it provided. pic.twitter.com/cOZ0rK9SEM
— Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (@OhioAG) June 14, 2021
His lawsuit accused Centene, through its Buckeye Health Plan, of double billing, inflating dispensing fees and claiming that they paid more to pharmacists than they actually did. Centene says in a statement the agreement denies any liability for these practices.
Yost said in response: “I will accept an apology note that has a dollar sign and many zeroes after it.”
In filing the suit, the state froze Centene’s $20 billion contract for managed care services for Ohio Medicaid.
Centene also settled a suit with Mississippi for $55 million. Yost says while he expects other states to sue, the settlement guarantees none will get more money than Ohio.