Omnicare Inc. (OCR), a supplier of drugs to nursing homes, agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming it paid a kickback in buying a pharmacy company, and that it submitted false claims for reimbursement to government health insurers. Lawyers told a federal judge in Chicago yesterday that they reached a “settlement in principle” to resolve a 2007 lawsuit by whistle-blower Maureen Nehls, a court docket entry shows. The terms, if final, weren’t entered into the docket. U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp Jr. set a hearing for Sept. 25. Nehls claims Omnicare’s $25 million purchase of Total Pharmacy Services LLC in 2004 included a kickback to one of its owners, Philip Esformes, and his father, Morris. That payment helped Omnicare win contracts with nursing homes owned or controlled by Morris Esformes and gave the company thousands of elderly and disabled customers, according to the complaint.
