Safeway Whistleblower Asks High Court to Revive Drug Price Suit

A False Claims Act whistleblower urged the US Supreme Court to reinstate his suit alleging that Safeway Inc. overcharged federal healthcare programs for prescription drugs.

Thomas Proctor alleged that Safeway knowingly submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid when it reported its retail price for certain drugs as its “usual and customary price,” even though general public customers paid much less than the retail price. A district court rejected the suit, and a split panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed.

The Seventh Circuit said Safeway didn’t knowingly misreport its prices, and no authoritative guidance ...