February 7, 2008
Conn. to receive $5M in national Merck settlement
Connecticut will receive almost $5 million in a nationwide settlement of allegations that Merck failed to pay the state's Medicaid rebates on three of its drugs, according to an announcement by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
The $649 million settlement includes 49 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government. Of the $4.99 million to Connecticut, the state will keep $2.22 million, with the rest going to the federal government, which splits Medicaid's costs with the states.
Federal and state authorities charged that Merck avoided paying states rebates required under the Federal Medicaid Drug Rebate statute for its drugs Zocor, Vioxx and Pepcid. Merck allegedly did so by purposely failing to report its "best" or lowest price for the drugs. Generally speaking, the lower the "best" price, the higher the rebate to a state Medicaid program.
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