A small pharmacy in Utah and a doctor’s office in Tennessee have been implicated in an alleged kickback scheme that used San Diego County Marines to defraud the military’s health insurance provider out of at least $67 million, according to court records filed in San Diego by federal authorities.
The allegations add to a growing number of investigations into fraudulent prescriptions of compound medications – high-priced drugs custom-made by pharmacists to tailor to a patient’s specific needs. The investigations have led to arrests in similar cases across the country and a change in how TRICARE — which serves 9.4 million active, retired and reserve military and their families — bills for such drugs.