Tennessee will receive $2,349,346.04 from Abbott Laboratories’ $384.9 million settlement over infant formula and nutritional therapy products, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced on September 18. The money is the state’s share of a nationwide False Claims Act resolution with the federal government and 40 states, tied to what the state’s Medicaid and WIC programs paid for Abbott products. It goes to the state, not to individual families, and no consumer claim process has been announced.
Where Tennessee’s $2.35 Million Comes From
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office said Abbott will pay $348,700,868 to the United States and $36,298,172 to participating states for claims involving their Medicaid and WIC programs. Tennessee’s $2.35 million comes out of that state portion. The total, $384,999,040 according to the Justice Department, resolves allegations that Abbott caused false claims to be submitted to federal and state programs after failing to make certain products in line with safety requirements.
The allocation reflects public spending, not retail sales. In Tennessee, Medicaid is run as TennCare, and WIC provides formula and other nutritional support to eligible families with young children. When those programs pay for products that the government says did not meet required standards, the state can seek repayment. That is why the recovery is measured in program claims and why there is no per-household amount for Tennessee families who bought formula on their own.
“Parents across Tennessee have to know with absolute certainty that the food they buy for their babies is safe,” Skrmetti said. “When manufacturers fail to meet the standards parents and the law require, we need to hold them accountable. This settlement holds Abbott accountable.”
Inside the kit. For Tennessee retirees sorting out what Medicare, TennCare and their own budget each cover, the kit has 51 state Medicare cost-help packs, the new Part D out-of-pocket cap, the prior-authorization appeal steps and a medication and cost tracker. Open The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit.
Tennessee Helped Negotiate the Nationwide Deal
Tennessee was not simply a recipient. It was one of 11 states on a National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units team that participated in the investigation and settlement negotiations on behalf of the states. The team also included California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio and Oregon. Tennessee joined 39 other states and the federal government in the final agreement.
The case started as a whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan. Under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, private individuals can sue on behalf of the government and share in a recovery. The United States and several states, including Tennessee, later filed their own complaints under the federal and state False Claims Acts. The Justice Department said the three relators, former Abbott employees Scott Millard, Kristine Cooper and Loren Cooper, will receive $69 million from the federal share.
Multistate teams like this one let a small group of states do the detailed work of reviewing records and negotiating terms for everyone. Each participating state then signs on and receives an amount tied to its own Medicaid and WIC claims. That process explains how a national settlement approaching $385 million can translate into a state share of about $2.35 million.
What the Government Alleged About Abbott’s Plants
The settlement covers conduct from January 1, 2018, through December 31, 2022, at Abbott facilities in Sturgis, Michigan, and Casa Grande, Arizona. Tennessee’s announcement says the allegations involve failures to maintain manufacturing equipment, failures to control conditions that raised the risk of microorganism contamination and, in some instances, failures to disclose test results showing contamination during FDA inspections.
The Justice Department gave more detail. It said roof leaks at the Sturgis plant left water dripping over equipment, that Abbott kept using spray dryers after documenting cracks and pits in them, and that the company lengthened the number of product batches between cleaning cycles to raise output. The department said the resolved claims are allegations only and that there has been no determination of liability. Sturgis is the plant whose 2022 recall and shutdown contributed to a nationwide formula shortage.
“It is critical that infant formula manufacturers adhere to regulatory and contractual requirements to ensure that the products they manufacture are safe for the babies who consume them,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey of the Western District of Michigan.
No Individual Payments, and a Warning About Look-Alike Offers
Tennessee’s announcement does not name a claims administrator, a filing website, a class of eligible purchasers, a deadline or a payment schedule. The state says it “will recover” and “will receive” its share; that language describes money coming to Tennessee’s programs, not money being sent to residents. Anyone who bought Abbott formula should not expect a check from this settlement.
That matters because widely reported settlements involving familiar products tend to attract impostors. A message that offers to help a Tennessee family claim part of the Abbott formula money, especially one asking for a fee, a bank login or a Social Security number, does not match the announced terms. Suspicious offers can be reported to the attorney general’s Division of Consumer Affairs or to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
The settlement also is not a product recall and does not list lot numbers or feeding advice. Parents and grandparents with questions about a particular product should rely on a pediatrician and on FDA recall notices.
For older Tennesseans, the case is mainly a taxpayer story. TennCare and WIC are funded with state and federal dollars, and the recovery returns part of what those programs paid for products the government says fell short of required standards. The state’s announcement does not say how Tennessee will use its $2.35 million, and no allocation plan has been published.
Sorting Out Which Program Pays for What
The Abbott case turned on which public program paid for which product. Tennessee retirees face a similar puzzle each year with Medicare plans, drug costs and state help, and the answers sit in different offices.
The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit includes 51 state Medicare cost-help packs, including Tennessee’s, and a medication and cost tracker for keeping plan payments and out-of-pocket costs side by side.
Find the Tennessee pack in The Medicare Cost & Coverage Protection Kit.
This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the linked official sources.
