CVS Fined $1.1 Million for Prescription Overcharges

January 13, 2003
CVS Corp. has agreed to pay $1.1 million to 18 states to settle allegations it submitted false prescription claims.

CVS, the second-largest U.S. drugstore chain, was accused of dispensing partial prescriptions because of insufficient stock, while billing government health-insurance programs for the full quantities prescribed. The practice, known as "partial-fill" prescriptions, took place prior to 1998, CVS said.

Michigan, one of the states involved in the case, expects to receive more than $52,000 from the settlement, said Sage Eastman, a spokesman for the Michigan attorney general's office.