Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has reached a $1.95 million settlement with CVS over the state's complaint that two pharmacists with expired licenses dispensed prescription drugs at CVS pharmacies.
The case stems from an investigation by the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. It alleges that at different times between 1997 and 2007, CVS employed as pharmacists two individuals whose licenses had expired: Morris Skirvin at a store in Nashville, Ind., and Edward Certain at a store in Marion, Ind.
Together, Skirvin and Certain filled an estimated 60,778 prescriptions, the investigation alleges, and the Indiana Medicaid program was overbilled for fees to which the unlicensed pharmacists were not entitled.
According to the investigation, Skirvin's license expired in 1990, long before his employer, Hook-SupeRx, was acquired by CVS, but he did not renew the license and allegedly forged a new one each renewal period.
After the MFCU began investigating Skirvin's license, CVS came forward and disclosed that another pharmacist, Certain, also had been practicing without a license. Certain had a valid license at one time but it expired in 2002 and he did not renew it, the MFCU found.
"To its credit, CVS has resolved this situation in a responsible way," Zoeller said. "First, it came forward and acknowledged that a pharmacist with an expired license had been employed at its Marion store. Now CVS will implement a screening program to ensure that none of its pharmacist employees are operating without a license."
As part of the settlement, CVS also agreed to verify that pharmacist employees and contractors have valid Indiana pharmacist's licenses and require applicants for pharmacist positions to disclose any aliases they have used and whether they are ineligible to hold a license.
CVS will also perform records checks on its Indiana pharmacist employees through the Indiana Professional Licensing Board, Zoeller said. The company will perform similar checks every six months for three years, according to the settlement agreement.
The $1.95 million settlement is not considered a fee, fine or admission of wrongdoing, Zoeller said, and will be used to reimburse the Indiana Medicaid program and investigative costs.