Texas Scorecard by Grant Halk June 29, 2026
The OAG has settled out of court for nearly $34 million after filing a suit alleging an illegal kickback scheme.AstraZeneca has settled with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly $34 million over claims that the company engaged in a kickback scheme tied to prescriptions paid for by Texas Medicaid.
AstraZeneca is known for producing drugs to treat various types of cancer and for a widely distributed COVID-19 vaccine.
Paxton sued AstraZeneca under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act. The THFPA ensures that information provided by doctors is accurate and not misleading by targeting fraud, false claims, and illegal kickbacks. The suit alleged AstraZeneca was engaging in an illegal kickback scheme for doctors who prescribed its medications to patients, often funded by the state’s Medicaid program.
“Texas’s lawsuit alleged that AstraZeneca provided free nursing services and reimbursement support to prescribers and paid third parties to deploy nurses and other healthcare professionals to recommend AstraZeneca drugs to medical providers under the guise of non-branded counseling,” according to an OAG release.
AstraZeneca will pay Texas $33,998,000 to resolve the state’s claims and reimburse the state for Medicaid funds the attorney general alleged were improperly influenced.
More:
https://texasscorecard.com/state/attorney-general-ken-paxton-settles-with-astrazeneca-for-34-million/
