Kansas will recoup $27 million as part of a deal with insurance giant Centene to settle allegations that middlemen who manage prescription drug benefits for the state’s Medicaid program overcharged, Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced Monday.
The state retained an independent law firm last year to examine the work of Centene subsidiary Envolve after an Ohio investigation found the middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, had not passed along discounts they received on drugs from pharmacy behemoth CVS Caremark
Schmidt said in a news release there was evidence of similar practices in Kansas, as well as signs the company inflated dispensing fees, or costs paid to pharmacists for filling prescriptions. The scope of the investigation began in 2016, Schmidt’s office said.
Kansas spends $106 million annually on drug costs related to the Medicaid program, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Centene will pay the state $27.6 million, as well as the costs of the independent investigation, per the terms of the settlement, with the company not admitting to any wrongdoing.
