Hawaiʻi joins nationwide settlement with Walgreens over unlawful billing

Attorney General Anne Lopez announced that Hawai‘i has joined 49 other states in a settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. and Walgreen Co. to resolve allegations of unlawful billing for prescriptions that were never collected or received by patients. Walgreens will pay $97.8 million to settle the claims, which involve government health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid.

The settlement addresses allegations from two qui tam lawsuits filed in 2019 and 2020, which claim that Walgreens unlawfully billed for prescription drugs that were never picked up by beneficiaries between 2009 and 2020. As a result, Walgreens received millions of dollars for prescriptions that were never provided to patients.

Under the terms of the settlement, Walgreens has implemented new billing system enhancements to prevent future unlawful billing. Walgreens also received credit for self-disclosing certain claims and refunding $66.3 million in connection with the case. Hawai‘i will receive $3,524.83 in recoveries from the settlement, with a total of $9.6 million allocated to all Medicaid programs involved.

The settlement resulted from an investigation by the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU), in collaboration with the US Department of Justice and US Attorneys’ Offices in Texas and Florida. The investigation was supported by representatives from the Office of the Attorney General of several states, including Wisconsin, California, Texas, Maine, Oregon, and Massachusetts.

Landon M.M. Murata, Director of the Hawai‘i Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU), and Judy Mohr Peterson, Ph.D., Med-QUEST Division Administrator at the Department of Human Services, signed the settlement agreement on behalf of Hawai‘i.

The Hawai‘i MFCU is tasked with investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud, as well as abuse and neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries. The unit is funded through a grant of $3.67 million from the US Department of Health and Human Services for Federal Fiscal Year 2025, with a 75% federal share. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% and is provided by the Medicaid Investigations Recovery Fund.

The Hawai‘i MFCU is funded through a grant totaling $3,670,956.00 for Federal Fiscal Year 2025, from the US Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General. The Federal Share of these funds is 75% totaling $2,753,220.00. The State Matching Share of these funds is 25% totaling $917,736.00 and is provided by the Medicaid Investigations Recovery Fund.

The Walgreens settlement agreement with Hawaiʻi can be found here.