Pfizer pays California $59.75M to settle Medicaid kickback claims

California Attorney General Bonta announced a settlement against Pfizer (PFE)-owned Biohaven Pharmaceutical “for submitting false claims to the Medicaid program and other government healthcare programs.” The settlement addresses claims that Biohaven participated in a kickback scheme from 2020 to 2022, where it provided “cash and extravagant gifts” to healthcare providers in return for prescribing their medication, Nurtec, Bonta said in a statement. As part of the settlement, Pfizer has agreed to pay, on behalf of Biohaven, a total of nearly $59.75M to resolve federal and state violations, most of which resulted in losses to the federal Medicare program. The State of California will receive $413,776 for its share of losses to California’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal.