Gilead Sciences has agreed to pay $45 million to resolve allegations that it provided kickbacks which improperly influenced prescriptions covered by the Texas Medicaid program. This settlement marks the latest instance of a pharmaceutical company reaching a deal with the state regarding its marketing practices.
The Texas attorney general pursued these claims in partnership with a whistleblower who also filed a separate lawsuit. That legal action alleged that Gilead paid another company to hire registered nurses to recommend its drugs. The lawsuit further accused Gilead of offering free support services to doctors to encourage them to prescribe its medications, which allegedly resulted in false claims being submitted to government programs.
The current dispute connects to broader industry issues raised nearly a decade ago. At that time, Health Choice Advocates and related firms filed whistleblower lawsuits against several drugmakers. Those earlier suits accused the companies of hiring third-party contractors to deploy nurses, sometimes by phone and sometimes at patient homes, to ensure prescriptions were refilled.