Pill Mills and the Opioid Epidemic
If you are or were a pharmacist or pharmacy manager for any of the chain pharmacies and you have information about inappropriate or fraudulent dispensing policies, please call us at 866-401-5971 or get started online to learn more about your potential rights.
https://www.baronandbudd.com/whistleblower/pill-mills
The nation is currently experiencing a national public health emergency because of opioid abuse. People all over the country are demanding accountability for this epidemic. Opioid manufacturers and distributors are being singled out, but the chain pharmacies, such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, and Walgreens, are also responsible. These pharmacies have both aided and benefited from this epidemic by dispensing opioids and other controlled substances susceptible to abuse without a legitimate medical reason.
Pharmacists were pressured by these chains to fill all prescriptions resulting in numerous irregular prescriptions being filled that were clearly not medically necessary.
These pharmacy chains value profits and high volumes of prescriptions instead of supporting their Pharmacists’ ability to properly evaluate prescriptions and weed out the ones from fraudulent “pill mill” doctors, ones that are forged, or that contain deadly amounts of narcotics.
Many of the large pharmacy chains have had to pay substantial fines for their irresponsible dispensing practices. In 2013, Walgreens paid a record $80 million fine and had to close six of its pharmacies in Florida. Other chains have also had to pay fines for their dispensing practices.
Whistleblower Protections
It is important to know that a person can be compensated for becoming a whistleblower and exposing those companies and individuals who are committing fraud. The Federal False Claims Act (FCA) protects whistleblowers from retaliation from their employers. This means the whistleblower cannot be fired, demoted or denied regular benefits in response or retaliation to reporting fraud. It is recommended that whistleblowers contact an attorney to ensure protection in these cases.
What Can You Do?
Baron & Budd is looking for current and former pharmacists and pharmacy managers who are familiar with the dispensing practices of the chain pharmacies and how they supported irresponsible dispensing practices. Large chains such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, and Walgreens, may be responsible for defrauding the government and contributing to the opioid crisis through their reckless distribution policies.
About Baron & Budd
With over 30 years of experience in Qui Tam cases, the attorneys on Baron & Budd’s whistleblower representation team have represented some 70 clients in government fraud cases returning over $5.4 billion to federal and state agencies, with whistleblower recovery shares as high as 49%. They are ready to help if you feel you have the evidence needed in order to pursue a whistleblower lawsuit. Get started by calling 866-401-5971 or contact us online. Please understand that contacting us does not mean that you have established an attorney-client relationship with Baron & Budd, P.C.
Filed under: General Problems
Money talks……BS walks. Guess who dot/gov deems full of it. The people that are now suffering in agony, losing their jobs, homes, marriages and even our lives.
This is “guilty until proven innocent”, there seems to be no recourse for doctors and patients. I wish the Supreme Court would take a look at this. People love to say “never again” but here we are….
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJDclN8E6mX0&h=AT1uFBywS8yRi3U3j0JHf8HyxYSvNM1OxOa4wR-o3Te6Bjj50T_LOkdf_u-eBoDbAlVya8s4IjHhTGjtaP7iA-5v_gwWfGzVP7Us3pGr9H897Fke6rWvkaO0mwM0tjsXn5el6g&s=1