INDIANAPOLIS | Amgen Inc. paid doctors kickbacks to prescribe its anemia treatment drug Aranesp, a state lawsuit against the drug manufacturer claims.

Indiana has joined 13 other states in a Medicaid fraud action against the Thousand Oaks, Calif., company.

Between October 2005 and last month, Indiana paid more than $10 million in Medicaid claims for Aranesp. The state's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit is still determining how many of those claims were fraudulent.

A company whistle-blower alerted authorities to the alleged kickback scheme. Whistle-blowers in Medicaid fraud cases receive a percentage of the recovered funds. - By Dan Carden, The Times