Virginia-based Food City resolves claims of improper opioid dispensing with major $8.5 million settlement
Virginia – In a significant legal resolution, K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., operating as Food City, has agreed to pay $8,488,378 to the United States to settle allegations under the False Claims Act in what appears to be the final resolution of the years-long legal process. These claims focused on improper opioid and other controlled substance distribution through its pharmacy operations. To handle claims connected to state Medicaid programs, the grocery chain will also pay Virginia and Kentucky $78,621.
From January 1, 2011, through December 31, 2018, Food City pharmacies issued opioids and restricted drugs that were either medically unnecessary or lacked a legitimate medical purpose and were not issued based on valid prescriptions. This behavior reportedly resulted in a major violation of trust and compliance as fake claims to federal healthcare programs were submitted.
From the Civil Division of the Justice Department, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton emphasized the duty of pharmacists to guarantee that prescriptions they fill, particularly for strong medicines like opioids, are medically necessary. Boynton explained that the department is committed to holding accountable pharmacies that have abdicated this responsibility and thereby contributed to the nation’s opioid crisis.
The settlement emphasizes the continuous efforts by American authorities to fight the opioid epidemic, which still destroys communities throughout the country. U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee emphasized the wider consequences of such careless behavior.
“When pharmacies fill prescriptions for opioids and other powerful controlled substances without regard to their legitimacy or medical necessity it significantly contributes to the opioid epidemic, causing great harm to our citizens and communities,” Hamilton said in the DOJ release.
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Reaching this agreement was accomplished in part by several government entities presenting a consistent front on handling the opioid epidemic. Kelly J. Blackmon, Special Agent in Charge Kelly J. Blackmon of the HHS Office of Inspector General noted on the significance of the case, so indicating an unwavering determination to guarantee that only legal, medically required prescriptions are given.
The settlement also covers K-VA-T Litigation Partnership, LLP’s resolution of qui tam, or whistleblower, allegations brought under the False Claims Act. The whistleblower will receive $1,527,908 of the settlement proceeds. This part of the case emphasizes the important part whistleblowers play in exposing and fixing mismanagement and fraud in the healthcare system.
With support from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee oversaw the investigation and subsequent resolution of this case.
This settlement not only tackles the abuse of controlled drugs but also reminds all pharmacies and medical professionals of the dire results of ignoring ethical and legal guidelines in healthcare dispensing and billing procedures.
