New Hampshire reaches $21.1 million settlement with Centene
New Hampshire has reached a $21.1 million settlement with a Missouri company over the inaccurate reporting of pharmacy benefit services cost, the attorney general’s office said Friday.
Centene and its affiliates Granite State Health Plan, Inc. and NH Healthy Families, Inc. are responsible for one of three health plans in New Hampshire’s Medicaid Care Management Program. The state began investigating the costs, including the pricing of prescription drugs, after similar investigations in other states became public.
“This settlement represents a significant recovery for New Hampshire taxpayers that adequately compensates the State for the financial harm it has suffered,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.
Not a Modern Healthcare subscriber? Sign up today.
The St. Louis-based Centene Corp., in the settlement agreement, denied liability, any wrongdoing, and any violation of any federal or state statute.
“This no-fault agreement reflects our commitment to prompt and transparent resolution of this matter and relentless focus on delivering high-quality healthcare outcomes to our members in the Granite State,” it said in a statement.
In recent months, the company has settled with several other states following a two-year investigation into whether the firm had overcharged Medicaid for prescriptions. Kansas in December reached a $27.6 million settlement and Mississippi and Ohio in June settled lawsuits against Centene for a total of nearly $144 million.