Kentucky leads nation in drug-fraud prosecutions and settlements

Kentucky leads the U.S. in pursuing pharmaceutical fraud, according to a report by the Washington, D.C.-based consumer group, Public Citizen. Since 1991, the state has pursued the most claims against pharmaceutical companies and reached more than 30 settlements. It pursued 17 single-state settlements, the most of any state.

The most common violation was overcharging Medicaid programs for services, mostly for drugs, Beth Musgrave of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports. The violations that netted the biggest penalties were for improper promotion of drugs. Attorney General Jack Conway oversees the Office of Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control; his spokeswoman, Shelley Catherine Johnson, told Musgrave the agency has recovered or been awarded more than $265 million since Conway took office in January 2008. (Read more)