TOPEKA – (September 23, 2011) – Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt today announced that his office has recovered $1.4 million for the Kansas Medicaid program as part of a settlement with a pharmaceutical company. 

The attorney general had filed a lawsuit against Boehringer Ingleheim, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, accusing the company of using deceptive practices to cause the Kansas Medicaid program to overpay reimbursements for drugs supplied by the company. 

“We take seriously our responsibility to protect Kansas taxpayers from costs and expenses that they are not obligated to pay,” Schmidt said. “This recovery sends a strong signal that Kansas is serious about protecting the public treasury and, ultimately, the state’s taxpayers.”

Schmidt said a total of 38 lawsuits have been filed by the attorney general’s office alleging the artificial inflation of the average wholesale price of drugs, on which the Medicaid reimbursement rates are set. To date, 12 of these cases have been settled resulting in $15.8 million in recoveries for the Kansas Medicaid program. The other cases remain pending.