Mississippi Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against 86 Pharmaceutical Companies Over Alleged Medicaid Fraud

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood (D) on Thursday filed a lawsuit over allegations that 86 pharmaceutical companies inflated average wholesale prices for prescription drugs to defraud the state Medicaid program, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reports. The lawsuit, which does not specify damages, names as defendants a number of large pharmaceutical companies, such as Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Merck. The lawsuit does not name Pfizer, and Hood said Mississippi officials have begun settlement negotiations with that company. Attorneys general for more than 20 other states have filed similar lawsuits and to date have recovered about $2.5 billion. According to the Mississippi lawsuit, the defendants inflated AWP for prescription drugs reported to the state Medicaid program to "attract providers and thus gain market share for their products" at the expense of the state. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants have "reinforced this tactic with other deceptive practices, such as covert discounts, kickbacks and rebates to providers and the use of other various devices to keep secret the prices of their drugs currently available in the marketplace." As a result, the state Medicaid program has paid "grossly excessive prices for the defendants' prescription drugs," according to the lawsuit. Reporters could not reach pharmaceutical company officials for comment on Thursday, but they have denied similar allegations in lawsuits filed by other states (Mitchell, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, 10/21).