WisBusiness: Jury orders $9 million award in Medicaid fraud case

By WisBusiness Staff

A Dane County jury has found drug maker Pharmacia defrauded Wisconsin’s Medicaid program by inflating prices and ordered the company to pay $9 million.

The jury also found Pharmacia, a subsidiary of Pfizer, violated the Medicaid Fraud law more than 1.4 million times. The state Department of Justice, which brought the action against the company, said the court may award a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $15,000 per violation.

Barring a settlement or a successful appeal by the company, that could bring between $144 million and more than $2 billion to the state.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said the DOJ has brought three dozen actions against various drug makers raising similar allegations. The Pharmacia case was the first to go to trial, while three companies have reached settlements. Thirty-two cases remain pending.