WASHINGTON, April 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court was set on Tuesday to consider a bid by whistleblowers to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of pocketing millions of taxpayer dollars by knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs.

The justices were set to hear arguments in an appeal by three whistleblowers of lower court rulings in favor of Safeway Inc, owned by Albertsons Companies Inc, and SuperValu Inc, part of United Natural Foods Inc.

The litigation was filed under a law called the False Claims Act that lets individuals sue on behalf of the U.S. government when they have evidence of fraud against federal programs. The whistleblowers, seeking monetary damages, accused the companies of offering prescription drugs at discounted prices to most customers paying out of pocket, while improperly charging higher rates to the government.

Government healthcare programs reimburse pharmacies for dispensing covered drugs to beneficiaries.

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