CHICAGO, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Illinois is suing dozens of big drugmakers for allegedly defrauding the state by overcharging government programs and Illinois Medicare customers.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan is targeting 48 big drug companies including Illinois-based Abbott Laboratories and Baxter International Inc., the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday.
Madigan's suit accuses the firms of intentionally misreporting and inflating the figures that are used to calculate Medicaid reimbursement rates.
Illinois doesn't seek a particular dollar amount but says the defendants charged doctors, hospitals and pharmacies far less for medicines than the prices the firms publish for those drugs. Those published prices are then used by healthcare providers when seeking reimbursement from the state for the care of Medicaid patients.
The state's suit says such an arrangement creates a financial incentive for healthcare providers to prescribe certain medicines.
