(AP) -- DETROIT (AP) - Meijer Inc. will pay $3 million after the retail chain discovered it had employed four pharmacists who were barred from federal health programs. The U.S. attorney's office in western Michigan says Meijer brought the issue to the government's attention. The pharmacists worked at Meijer from 1997 to 2006 and had been barred from Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare, a military health plan.
Federal law prohibits stores from using pharmacists on the debarment list. Meijer gets federal reimbursement for many prescriptions it sells. The pharmacists worked at Meijer stores in Michigan and Ohio. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Cobb declined to identify the pharmacists.
Meijer says the health of customers was not affected. The Grand Rapids-based company also has stores in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.
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