Drug firm will pay Mass. $7m to settle price claim

A pharmaceutical company will pay the Massachusetts Medicaid program $7 million to settle allegations they inflated the prices of drugs.

Teva Pharmaceutical USA Inc. and its subsidiary, Ivax Corp., were among 13 manufacturers sued in 2003 for allegedly falsely inflating prices reported to national pharmaceutical price reporting services.

The state's Medicaid program MassHealth uses the reported prices to set how much they will pay for prescriptions.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said the inflated prices forced MassHealth to pay higher prices for prescriptions.

In agreeing to the settlement, Teva did not admit wrongdoing.

The state has already reached settlements with five other companies. (AP)