MARSHALL, Texas – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit in state court against Eli Lilly and Co., accusing the pharmaceutical giant of bribing and inducing medical providers to prescribe its most profitable drugs. In return, physicians were offered unlawful payments and a range of free services in violation of state law.
Texas is intervening in the litigation as a plaintiff with the Health Choice Alliance, a research organization jointly represented by The Lanier Law Firm and McKool Smith PC.
The lawsuit, filed in Harrison County, accuses Eli Lilly of offering the kickbacks to steer providers to write prescriptions for as many as 14 high-demand drugs such as the GLP-1 medications Mounjaro and Zepbound, resulting in millions of dollars in claims to the state’s Medicaid program. Because those charges resulted from Eli Lilly’s suspect marketing and service arrangements, the lawsuit claims the practice violated the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act and Texas Anti-Kickback Statute.
“This scheme corrupted medical decision-making by giving doctors quid pro quo services obviously intended to influence prescribing,” says Mark Lanier of The Lanier Law Firm. “As a result, Texas Medicaid became responsible for millions of dollars in improper payments. This case should serve as a warning to the other pharmaceutical giants that such unlawful activities will be investigated and prosecuted.”
The lawsuit states that the company provided free nursing services to patients who were prescribed Eli Lilly drugs and offered a supposedly independent web-based service that was in fact managed by Eli Lilly to direct patients to the desired drugs. In addition, the kickbacks involved free services to physicians to obtain insurance authorizations and authorization from Texas Medicaid on behalf of patients, a time- consuming process with administrative costs that are not normally reimbursable to the provider.
“Big Pharma compromised medical decision-making by engaging in an illegal kickback scheme,” said Attorney General Paxton in announcing the lawsuit. “Eli Lilly fraudulently sought to maximize profits at taxpayer expense and put corporate greed over people’s health. I will not stand by while corporations unlawfully manipulate our healthcare system to line their own pockets.”
The case is Texas vs. Eli Lilly & Co Inc., filed in the 71st District Court of Harrison County, Texas.
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For more than 30 years, the men and women at The Lanier Law Firm have worked tirelessly, throughout the United States, to find unique and effective solutions for their clients. More than 50 skilled attorneys practice law in a broad array of areas, including business litigation, pharmaceutical litigation, asbestos exposure, oil and gas litigation, personal injury as well as defective and dangerous products, among others. Named an Elite Trial Law Firm by The National Law Journal, The Lanier Law Firm has offices in Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.
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