Texas Reaches $34M Settlement With AstraZeneca for Illegal Kickback Scheme

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a settlement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals to resolve claims that the company engaged in an illegal kickback scheme that improperly influenced prescriptions paid for by Texas Medicaid. Under the settlement, the company will pay $33,998,000.00 to the State.

Attorney General Paxton sued AstraZeneca under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act (“THFPA”). Texas’s lawsuit alleged that AstraZeneca provided free nursing services and reimbursement support to prescribers and paid third-parties to deploy nurses and other healthcare professionals to recommend AstraZeneca drugs to medical providers under the guise of non-branded counseling.

These inducements were designed to steer providers toward prescribing AstraZeneca’s drugs. In many cases, these prescriptions were covered by Medicaid, resulting in millions of dollars in claims to Texas Medicaid that were tainted by AstraZeneca’s illegal inducements.

Now, under the settlement, AstraZeneca will pay $33,998,000 to resolve the State’s claims and repay Texans for the abuse of taxpayer dollars.

Source: Texas Attorney General’s Office