The owner of two Western Washington pharmacies is under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration for reselling ‘used’ medications to patients while, in some cases, falsely charging Medicare twice during the billing process.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, two pharmacies in Seattle and Bellingham were recently raided by federal investigators to investigate charges that they were reselling medicine that had been collected from patients living in long-term care facilities in Western Washington, sometimes after they had passed away.
With the previously prescribed medication in hand, the pharmacies would repackage and sell them as new for a second time. Investigators were not able to easily estimate how many patients were sold second-hand drugs.
In some cases, the pharmacy owners resold the drugs to patients who paid their medical bills with Medicaid.
“This practice violated both federal and state law and poses a significant safety risk to patients who receive these re-used drug products,” Jim Burkhardt, a special agent with the FDA's criminal investigations division, said in documents filed in U.S. District Court at Seattle, according to the Post-Intelligencer.
The investigation into the pharmacies was launched last August after a former manager at one of the pharmacies reported that medication reselling was occurring to an investigator at the state Department of Health. He also said that the pharmacy was charging government insurers full price for drugs that had been received as free samples.
If you or a loved one have been harmed by old or defective drugs that should not have been given to you by a pharmacy, there may be grounds for legal action. Call Sokolove Law today for a free legal consultation.