Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly, accusing the drug maker of bribing doctors to prescribe their medications. Paxton said the quid pro quo arrangements tainted millions of dollars of claims to Texas Medicaid.
The lawsuit accuses Eli Lilly of providing doctors offices with free nurses to conduct patient-care services. That work is largely unprofitable and time-consuming; the nurses allow doctors to see more patients and write more prescriptions. The suit also states that Eli Lilly provides support services, such as ensuring a patient’s insurance covers the drug, so doctors and their staff don’t have the added tasks, which are also not billable.
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“Big Pharma compromised medical decision-making by engaging in an illegal kickback scheme,” Paxton said in a statement. “Eli Lilly fraudulently sought to maximize profits at taxpayer expense and put corporate greed over people’s health.”
The drugs covered under the alleged kick-pack scheme include:
- Basaglar (diabetes)
- Ebglyss (eczema)
- Mounjaro (type 2 diabetes and weight loss)
- Zepbound (obesity and obstructive sleep apnea)
The company is accused of violating the Texas Anti-Kickback Statute, which makes it illegal to directly or indirectly pay a bribe, in cash or in kind, to recommend the purchase of a product.
Eli Lilly said the US government determined in a prior case that the Texas AG’s allegations lack sufficient factual and legal support. The company added that the federal government determined, “federal healthcare programs have a strong interest in ensuring that, after a physician has appropriately prescribed a medication, patients have access to basic product support relating to their medication.”
“Multiple courts and the federal government have rejected claims by this same corporate relator against Lilly as meritless,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson told SAN. “We intend to vigorously defend against these allegations.”
Paxton previously sued Eli Lilly, Express Scripts, CVS Pharmacy and others, alleging a conspiracy to inflate insulin prices.
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