Medicare Part D paid $588M for OTC drugs labeled as prescription-only

(The Center Square) – Medicare Part D sponsors made $587.7 million in ineligible payments to pharmacies for five drugs carrying obsolete prescription-only labeling more than a year after the corresponding brand-name drugs switched to over-the-counter status, a federal watchdog found.

The money won't be recovered, because the payments complied with Medicare guidance in place at the time, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General, which made the finding in an audit covering calendar years 2021 through 2023.