Washington, DC — Senator Chuck Grassley says he’ll urge the US Senate to respond if the US Supreme Court sides with pharmacy operators rather than two whistleblowers.
In 1986, Grassley led the Senate passage of an update of the False Claims Act. It lets whistleblowers who allege a person or company is defrauding the government sue for damages for themselves and the government.
At issue now are two whistleblowers who sued, alleging Safeway and SuperValu pharmacies overcharged Medicaid and Medicare for prescription drugs. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the companies’ appeal last month. The companies argue they did not knowingly overcharge the government programs.
Grassley says he hopes the court rules in favor of his view, but if it doesn’t, he’ll prepare legislation. “More or less just say to the judges and the justices: ‘How come you can’t figure out what we meant to do? But we’re going to prove to you what we meant to do by passing legislation that overturns your court cases,'” Grassley says. Grassley is the top-ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
