Donations to Patient Assistance Charities
On this Ropes & Gray podcast, health care partner Michael Lampert and counsel Sam Perrone, and litigation & enforcement partner Andrew O’Connor, rejoin to discuss patient assistance programs, recent enforcement actions, and...more
In today’s heightened enforcement environment, compliance auditing isn’t just a best practice—it’s a necessity. Federal and state laws and industry guidance, including the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Compliance Program...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States, has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute arising from purported...more
On August 20, 2024, OIG issued Advisory Opinion No. 24-07 in which it responded to a request for an advisory opinion regarding a nonprofit grant-making organization’s (Requestor) proposal to fund a patient assistance program...more
On July 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued Advisory Opinion 24-05, evaluating two manufacturer-sponsored assistance programs under the federal Anti-Kickback...more
Healthcare compliance risks exist even when a company takes steps to structure its business activities to follow the government's own statements. A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of...more
How could alleged kickbacks threaten to render insolvent a publicly traded company with assets (taken from its latest SEC filing) in excess of $43 billion? The answer stems from a recent decision by the United States District...more
Patient assistance programs (PAPs) that seek to subsidize patient co-payments for drugs covered by Medicare may involve compliance challenges. A recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector...more
In Advisory Opinion 20-02, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) approved certain lodging and travel assistance offered by a pharmaceutical manufacturer to patients being administered a drug manufactured by the pharmaceutical...more
On January 21, 2020, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“OIG”) published Advisory Opinion 20-02, approving an arrangement under which a pharmaceutical manufacturer provides...more
On September 4, 2019 the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $15.4 million settlement with pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt ARD LLC (Mallinckrodt) to resolve alleged violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) in two...more
On April 4, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced settlements with three pharmaceutical companies, Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (Jazz), Lundbeck LLC (Lundbeck), and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Alexion), related to...more
Can a pharmaceutical manufacturer provide free items or services to financially needy Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries without running afoul of the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalty (CMP) or the Anti-Kickback...more
Last week, the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) issued a favorable Advisory Opinion regarding a proposal by a pharmaceutical manufacturer (Manufacturer) to loan a...more
On January 24, 2019, OIG issued Advisory Opinion No. 19-02, analyzing a proposed arrangement in which a pharmaceutical manufacturer would loan smartphones to patients who meet certain poverty level requirements in order to...more
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published Advisory Opinion No. 19-02, advising that OIG would not pursue enforcement under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) or the...more
On January 29, the Health and Human Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) released new guidance that sheds further light on the types of patient assistance that may be provided under the “Promotes Access to Care”...more
On March 15, 2018, Skadden hosted its Eighth Annual Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Medical Device Seminar in Palo Alto, California, which focused on U.S. enforcement issues faced by companies throughout the industry. The...more
In the midst of ongoing national debates regarding drug pricing [1] and access to innovative therapies, patient assistance programs (“PAPs”) are facing an evolving legal landscape, as well as increased enforcement scrutiny...more
Right before Christmas last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an ominous settlement: United Therapeutics, a manufacturer of pulmonary arterial hypertension drugs, agreed to pay more than $200 million to settle...more
Panelists examined major enforcement actions from 2017 and identified key trends. Aggressive Enforcement With a Decrease in High-Dollar Settlements. Panelists noted that the Department of Justice (DOJ) continues its...more
Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and biologics have been closely watching the industry-wide investigation by the Boston U.S. Attorney's Office into manufacturer support of independent charitable foundations that assist...more
Charitable organizations can easily become enmeshed in Justice Department enforcement issues. We have seen charities used in FCPA cases as a means to funnel bribes to government officials, spouses or family members....more
You probably heard about the recent price hike for a drug critical to AIDS patients when the manufacturer sold it to an evil hedge fund manager who promptly marked it up 5,000%. This prompted Los Angeles Times columnist...more
In an effort to address new concerns about the independence of charity patient assistance programs (PAPs), the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its Supplemental Special Advisory Bulletin: Independent Charity Patient...more