BMS to Pay $75 Million to Settle Charges of Underpaying Medicaid Rebates

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) has agreed to pay $75 million to U.S. and state governments to settle allegations that it knowingly underpaid rebates owed to Medicaid drug rebate programs.

Of the total amount, $41 million, plus interest, will go to the U.S. government, with the remainder being divided among participating states.

The case arose from a 2013 whistleblower lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Ronald Streck, an attorney and pharma activist. The government declined to intervene in the matter and the case proceeded via the False Claims Act, which allows private parties to file suit on behalf of the U.S.