Par Pharmaceutical will pay Idaho $1.7 million in Medicaid settlement

The prescription drug manufacturer Par Pharmaceutical Cos. Inc., has agreed to pay Idaho $1.7 million to settle drug pricing claims by the state, according to Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

Idaho Medicaid must reimburse pharmacies at the "estimated acquisition cost" of the drug. Those costs are determined using the "average wholesale price" reported by drug makers.

If the manufacturer falsifies or inflates the reported price, taxpayers can overpay in drug reimbursements. The attorney general said that, in 2003, the company published an average wholesale price for Fluoxetine -- generic Prozac -- that was about 33 times higher than the actual price.

The $1.7 million payment is meant to reimburse taxpayers for excessive Medicaid prescription payments because of inflated wholesale price reporting, the attorney general said. Even so, the company admits no liability or wrongdoing, and the Fourth District Court in Ada County must approve the settlement.



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