Ahold Delhaize USA to pay $40 million to settle prescription pricing allegations

WASHINGTON — Ahold Delhaize USA has agreed to pay $40 million to resolve allegations that pharmacies within several of its supermarket chains submitted claims to federal healthcare programs based on inflated prescription drug prices, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The allegations involve in-store pharmacies at Ahold Delhaize banners, including Giant, Hannaford, Stop & Shop, and Food Lion. According to the Justice Department, the pharmacies did not report discounted prescription prices available through savings programs as their “usual and customary” prices when billing Medicare Part D, Medicaid, and TRICARE.

The government contended that the reporting practices caused federal healthcare programs to pay more for certain prescription claims than they otherwise would have paid.

“Federal healthcare programs rely on pharmacies reporting accurate pricing information used in the applicable payment formulas,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The settlement resolves allegations related to prescription savings programs offered by the supermarket pharmacies. The government alleged that discounted prices available to enrolled customers should have been reported as the pharmacies’ customary prices under the applicable program requirements.

Of the $40 million settlement, approximately $32.9 million will go to the federal government, with the remainder distributed among participating states. The case stemmed from a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Lawrence LaBenne, a former pharmacist at an Ahold Delhaize supermarket in Pennsylvania. Under the settlement, LaBenne will receive approximately $6.1 million from the federal share of the recovery.

The Department of Justice announced the settlement. The claims resolved by the agreement are allegations only, and no determination of liability has been made. Ahold Delhaize did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.