Massachusetts sues pharmaceutical companies.In an effort to hold down drug costs, the attorney general of Massachusetts Massachusetts (măsəch  `sĭts), most populous of the New England states of the NE United States. filed suit against 13 major generic drug generic drug, a drug sold or prescribed under the nonproprietary name of its active ingredients or under a generally descriptive name rather than under a brand or trade name. makers. The suit contends that fraudulent The description of a willful act commenced with the Specific Intent to deceive or cheat, in order to cause some financial detriment to another and to engender personal financial gain. pricing caused the state's Medicaid Medicaid, national health insurance program in the United States for low-income persons; established in 1965 with passage of the Social Security Amendments and now run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. program to pay $50 million too much for drugs over a period of several years. The attorney general alleges that the companies reported artificially high prices for many drugs to the government, inflating the amount that the Medicaid program paid. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association responded to the accusations by saying that its members are committed to complying with the laws. A spokesperson for the Association added that generic drugs save Medicaid billions of dollars each year. --James A. Hawkins is a health care writer based in Aiken, S.C. He can be reached by phone at (803)414-2062 or by e-mail at hir@ix.netcom.com. |
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