Aetna whistleblower, who says CVS gouged Medicare and Medicaid customers, is put on leave

COLUMBUS -- A whistleblower with Aetna who accused CVS Caremark of gouging Medicaid and Medicare customers with high prescription-drug costs has been placed on paid administrative leave by the insurance company.

The move comes after the whistleblower’s lawsuit was unsealed in federal court in early April. It also comes as CVS Caremark, one of the country’s largest pharmacy benefit managers, pursues the acquisition of Aetna for a reported $69 billion.

Sarah Behnke, at the time the chief Medicare actuary for Aetna, filed the whistleblower lawsuit, which is pending. Her attorney told The Dispatch that the decision by Aetna to send her home is “retaliatory and inappropriate.”

Behnke said her internal investigation found that CVS Caremark was billing the federal government significantly higher prices for seniors’ drugs than was appropriate.

The scheme has been used by CVS Caremark since 2007, Behnke said, and has cost the federal government more than $1 billion in fraudulent charges, according to her lawsuit.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/news/20180517/aetna-whistleblower-who-says-cvs-gouged-medicare-and-medicaid-customers-is-put-on-leave