Walgreens has agreed to pay $106 million to settle lawsuits alleging false payment claims to government health care programs for prescriptions never dispensed. The settlement, announced on Friday, resolves suits in New Mexico, Texas, and Florida on behalf of whistleblowers who worked in the pharmacy chain’s operations. These lawsuits were filed under the False Claims Act, enabling private parties to file cases on behalf of the government. Walgreens was accused of submitting false claims to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs between 2009 and 2020 for prescriptions that weren’t picked up after processing.
According to settlement documents, Walgreens cooperated in the investigation and upgraded its electronic system to prevent such issues in the future. The pharmacy chain stated that a software error led to inadvertently billing government programs for a small number of uncollected prescriptions. Walgreens rectified the error, reported it to the government, and voluntarily refunded all overpayments.
Although the settlement was reached without admitting legal liability, Walgreens emphasized taking corrective actions to address the problem. This story has been corrected to clarify that the lawsuits were initiated by private parties, not the U.S. Justice Department.
