By Matt Sepic, KWMU
St. Louis – Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is suing two drug companies he claims bilked the state's Medicaid program out of $15 million over a decade.
Dey pharmaceuticals, part of Merck, and Warrick Pharmaceuticals, a division of Schering-Plough are named in the suit.
Nixon said the companies inaccurately reported prices of the inhaler Albuterol to pharmacies participating in Medicaid.
"We think in this industry there is a problem with the artificially inflating of these reimbursement prices that the state pays," Nixon said. "It's very important that the state get the best price possible for these drugs. This is a drug in which during that 10-year period over 400,000 prescriptions were filled."
A spokeswoman for Schering-Plough says the company does not comment on pending litigation.
Dey did not return a call seeking comment.