Food City agrees to $8M settlement for opioid claims

A Virginia-based grocery chain, Food City, has agreed to pay $8M to settle opioid dispensary claims.

The company, officially trading as K-VA-T Food Stores Inc., is a Land of Lovers state staple. The United States government alleged that the chain of stores had breached the False Claims Act due to claims that opioids that were dispensed at the locations and other controlled substances did not meet regulations.

The civil settlement brings to a close a report flagged by the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by K-VA-T Litigation Partnership, LLP. K-VA-T Litigation Partnership, LLP will receive $1,527,908 of the proceeds from the settlement agreement.

Food City to pay $8M

“The Medicare and Medicaid programs deliver vital prescription drug services to beneficiaries,” said Special Agent in Charge Kelly J. Blackmon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “This case underscores HHS-OIG’s dedication to addressing the nation’s opioid overdose crisis and ensuring that only legitimate, medically necessary prescriptions are dispensed.”

According to a Justice Department report, the chain was under a claim that from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2018, twenty-four premises with a pharmacy dispensed “opioids and other controlled substances that were medically unnecessary, lacked a legitimate medical purpose or medically accepted indication, and/or were not dispensed pursuant to valid prescriptions.”

The medical care programs that were affected include Medicare and TRICARE. Food City will pay the United States $8,488,378. Food City will pay an additional $78,621 to the states of Virginia and Kentucky for claims paid to Food City by state Medicaid programs.

“TRICARE is committed to providing safe, effective, and appropriate care to our warfighters, retirees, veterans and their families,” said Chief Edward C. Norton Jr. of the Defense Health Agency’s Pharmacy Operations Division. “Dispensing medically unnecessary opioids and other controlled substances to our beneficiaries puts them at great risk and will not be tolerated.”

Image: Pexels.

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