Department of Justice Seal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CIV

TUESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2001

(202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV

TDD (202) 514-1888


CVS CORPORATION PAYS $4 MILLION TO

SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS CASE


WASHINGTON, D.C. CVS Corporation, a retail pharmacy chain, has paid $4 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false prescription claims to government health insurance programs, the Justice Department announced today. CVS and Revco Drugstores, Inc., a pharmacy chain acquired by CVS in 1997, are alleged to have dispensed partial or "short" prescriptions due to insufficient stock, but billed the government health insurance programs (Medicaid, TRICARE Management Activity, and the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program) for the full quantities prescribed for beneficiaries of the government health insurance programs.

The Rhode Island-based company agreed to pay a total of $4 million to the federal government, the District of Columbia, and the following participating states: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. The settlement covers the time period from January 1, 1988 to June 1, 1997.

A portion of the settlement amount settles a qui tam complaint brought against Revco Drugstores, Inc. by Marion Tucker Altman, Jr. in the District of South Carolina. Mr. Altman will receive $131,346 from the proceeds of the settlement.

CVS cooperated with the investigation and entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The

Corporate Integrity Agreement addresses the company's prescription billing procedures and other compliance-related issues.

The case is entitled United States ex rel. Marion Tucker Altman, Jr. v. Revco, et al, Case NO. 2 96 1005 2 (D-SC)(Under Seal).

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