A federal lawsuit against national chain CVS Pharmacy, Inc. has ended with a $37.76 million settlement after the company admitted it over-dispensed insulin pens and improperly billed government health programs.

Between 2010 and 2020, prosecutors said CVS repeatedly filled insulin prescriptions before patients needed them, supplied more pens than prescribed and under-reported how many days the insulin would last — all to get early reimbursements from programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York filed suit against CVS charging that this practice violated the False Claim Act.

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A $37.7 million settlement was reached Dec. 2.

“The Government alleges that CVS improperly requested and received GHP reimbursement for premature refills, dispensed more insulin pens than patients needed according to their prescriptions, and falsely under-reported the days-of-supply of insulin that its pharmacies dispensed,” the settlement states.

Of the $37.7 million, more than $24 million will be paid to the United States and the remainder will be paid to various states.

“As part of the settlement, CVS also admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the Government in its complaint, including that GHPs paid CVS substantial amounts for insulin pen refills that were ineligible for reimbursement and CVS pharmacies dispensed more insulin to GHP beneficiaries than they needed,” the settlement announcement reads.

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U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said the company engaged in a decade-long practice of refilling insulin prescriptions too early and improperly billing government healthcare programs for more than patients needed.

He added the settlement underscores the government’s determination to enforce rules that protect taxpayer-funded healthcare.

“These programs rely on pharmacies to follow appropriate refill schedules and to accurately report the amount of medicine dispensed, which CVS pharmacies frequently failed to do,” he said.