STAT+: AstraZeneca to pay $34 million to settle kickback charges filed by Texas attorney general
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- AstraZeneca agreed to pay $34 million to settle claims that it paid kickbacks to improperly influence prescriptions covered by Texas Medicaid.
- Texas alleged the drugmaker provided a free network of nurses and insurance support services to boost prescriptions of its medicines, per the settlement filing.
- The free services allegedly handled key aspects of patient care that physicians would otherwise have to manage or pay staff to perform, according to the state.
- AstraZeneca's alleged scheme prompted pharmacies, pharmacy benefit managers, and others to submit claims to Texas Medicaid for its drugs, the state claimed.
- Those claims caused Texas Medicaid to disburse millions of dollars in reimbursements not authorized under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act.
Why it matters: The $34 million settlement resolves allegations that AstraZeneca blurred the line between patient support and prescriber influence by embedding free clinical staff into physician offices, allegedly steering drug choice. For Texas Medicaid, the case recovers funds tied to reimbursements the state says were never authorized under its fraud-prevention law.
