U.S. taxpayers have paid at least $200 million since 2004 for medications that have never been reviewed by the government for safety and effectiveness, but are still covered under Medicaid.
The availability of unapproved prescription drugs may create a dangerous false sense of security; dozens of deaths have been linked to these drugs.
Medicaid paid nearly $198 million from 2004 to 2007 for more than 100 unapproved drugs, mostly for common conditions such as colds and pain. Medicaid officials acknowledge the problem, but say they need help from Congress to fix it.