Friday, November 12, 1999
Millions lost to druggists' shorting
U.S. suing pharmacies over practice
The Associated Press
NASHVILLE — Taxpayers are getting shortchanged by a common practice in pharmacies: Druggists underfill some prescriptions when they run short on medicines, but still bill government insurance programs for the full amount.
Authorities say the practice, called “shortfilling,” costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year because it is usually done with Medicaid patients and others who use federal programs.
Two of the nation's largest drugstore chains have recently settled legal claims over shortfilling. The Justice Department says other cases are pending against additional drugstores but won't elaborate, saying the lawsuits have been sealed.
“We believe the practice is widespread, but I can't give you the specifics of the extent of what we're looking at now,” spokeswoman Chris Watney said. “It's a problem that could happen at any pharmacy.”
When a pharmacist “shortfills” a prescription, the customer is usually encouraged to return later for the rest of their medication, authorities say.
Many people fail to return, but some pharmacies still charge government health programs for the full prescription.
Kendall Lynch, director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy, said the computer systems many pharmacies use to bill government health programs cannot pro-rate shortfilled prescriptions.
“You have to do it manually, and I don't think I have to tell you how much more (time-consuming) it is do it manually,” Mr. Lynch said.
The nation's largest drugstore chain, Walgreen Co., agreed in September to pay $7.6 million and revamp its computer system to track and appropriately bill for partially filled prescriptions. The move resolved claims with 25 states and Puerto Rico.
Florida and Tennessee filed similar claims as part of a federal suit against Eckerd Corp., the drug chain owned by J.C. Penney. Tennessee settled its portion of the suit last month for $200,000.
Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen was accused of shortfilling 4 million prescriptions and overcharging government health care programs $21 million.
The lawsuit against Largo, Fla.-based Eckerd, the nation's fourth-largest chain, charges it shortfilled 180,000 prescriptions and overcharged $11 million.
Walgreen and Eckerd denied any wrongdoing.
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