Walgreens Boots Alliance has agreed to pay $106.8 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently billed the U.S. government for prescriptions that were never dispensed, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The settlement resolves claims that the pharmacy chain submitted false payment requests to Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal healthcare programs between 2009 and 2020.
The DOJ accused Walgreens of violating the federal False Claims Act by seeking reimbursement for prescriptions that were processed but never actually picked up by patients. This fraudulent billing led the company to receive tens of millions of dollars for prescriptions it did not provide.
Brian Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, emphasized the importance of holding entities accountable for abusing federal healthcare programs. “Federal health care programs provide critical health care services to millions of Americans,” Boynton said. “We will hold accountable those who abuse these programs by knowingly billing for goods or services they did not provide.”
Walgreens, headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, has not admitted liability but agreed to the settlement. The company attributed the issue to a software error and stated that it has since corrected the problem, reported it to the government, and refunded all overpayments. Walgreens has already returned $66.3 million related to the claims and is credited with this amount in the settlement.
The settlement also addresses three whistleblower lawsuits filed in Florida, New Mexico, and Texas. Steven Turck, a former Walgreens pharmacy manager who initiated the Texas case, will receive $14.92 million from the settlement. Andrew Bustos, a former Walgreens district pharmacy supervisor who filed the New Mexico case, will receive $1.62 million.
In response to the settlement, Walgreens shares saw a 4.2% increase, closing at $9.21 on Friday. The company is also planning to close a significant number of underperforming stores in the coming years as part of its ongoing operational adjustments.
