McGraw
CHARLESTON -– West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw appears to be ready to accept a ruling that he shortchanged the federal government nearly $450,000.
Both McGraw's office and attorneys for the federal Department of Health and Human Services signed a joint motion Monday to lift the stay that has been in place in McGraw's challenge of a withhold of Medicaid funds. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a part of the DHHS, allots federal funds to states to use in their Medicaid programs.
CMS says McGraw wrongfully kept $2.7 million from his 2004 settlement with Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin. CMS provides the bulk of dollars West Virginia spends on Medicaid and feels it should be repaid when a lawsuit alleging harm to the Medicaid program results in a settlement or award.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed in August, ruling that McGraw wrongfully kept $446,607 by not classifying the proper amount of the $850,000 settlement with Dey Inc. as Medicaid recovery.
The $2.7 million withhold had been stayed while that case was sorted out, since the arguments in the two cases are identical. McGraw still has the option to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, but voluntarily lifting the stay could mean that he will not. The two sides also proposed a briefing schedule.
Read the full story at Legal Newsline.