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Sixteen States, DOJ Join Whistle-Blower Lawsuits Alleging Wyeth Defrauded Medicaid Programs
The U.S. Department of Justice and 16 states have joined two whistle-blower lawsuits filed in federal District Court in Massachusetts alleging that Wyeth defrauded the government by not offering the same discounts on two medications to Medicaid that it offered to hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. The lawsuits were initiated following a grand-jury investigation by the U.S. Attorney"s Office in Massachusetts (Johnson, Wall Street Journal, 5/19). The other states included in the lawsuits are California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, New York, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia (Barrett, AP/Austin American-Statesman, 5/18).According to the lawsuits, Wyeth from 2000 to 2006 sold hospitals a bundled package called the Protonix Performance Agreement, which included its acid-reflux drugs Protonix Oral and Protonix IV. The suits allege that Wyeth gave hospitals up to a 94% discount for the oral version under the deal, with the understanding that when patients were released from hospitals they would be switched from the intravenous version of the drug to the oral version. According to the complaint, Wyeth hoped to gain an edge in a competitive market for acid-reflux pills by taking advantage of its standing as the only company offering an IV acid-reflux drug. The Journal reports that Wyeth charged hospitals $20 per vial for the IV version of Protonix and $3 for the oral version.Medicaid rules stipulate that the program is entitled to the lowest price on prescription drugs, and drugmakers are required to pay states rebates if they offer discounts to any other entities. The lawsuits state that Wyeth avoided paying hundreds of millions of dollars to state Medicaid programs because it did not offer the programs the same discounts or provide rebates (Wall Street Journal, 5/19).The lawsuits are seeking financial penalties against Wyeth of up to three times the amount lost by Medicaid. Assistant Attorney General Tony West said, "By offering massive discounts to hospitals, but then hiding that information from the Medicaid program, we believe Wyeth caused Medicaid programs throughout the country to pay much more for these drugs than they should have." Wyeth spokesperson Doug Petkus said that Wyeth "believes that its pricing calculations were correct and intends to defend itself vigorously in these actions" (AP/Austin American-Statesman, 5/18).
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Martinez: Fixing Long-Term Care, Starting With The Census
U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) introduced an effort aimed at updating the U.S. Census" current function questions to better improve our nation"s long-term care services and support systems. By replacing a small portion of the survey with standardized function questions used by medical providers, the Disability Data Modernization Act will provide more accurately collected data used for planning the future health care needs of elderly and disabled Americans.
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Yale Researchers Find Key 'Conductor' Of Nature's Synchronicity
Synchronicity in nature is seen in beating hearts, the flashing of fireflies" lights, the ebb and flow of infectious disease-and the simultaneous rise and fall of populations across vast reaches of space. While scientists have identified some factors that account for this melodic phenomenon, they have yet to sort out the relative contribution each plays in this finely tuned orchestra.
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A Selection Of Opinions And Editorials

Health Care Crippling The Economy - Chicago Tribune Americans are spoiled. We all feel entitled to the best health care. But this cannot be done for everyone, for long (Jim Nowlan, 6/4). Medicare, Start The Bidding - New York Times Medicare could use an approach called a reverse Dutch auction to set up competition for doctors in oversupplied regions (Peter B. Bach, 6/3). Talk Amongst Yourselves - The New Republic Health care reform won"t go anywhere unless Obama does a better job of telling us what it"ll cost (William Galston, 6/4). Beware Consequences Of Public Health Plan - Des Moines Register The recent Iowa Poll by the Register shows 80 percent of those surveyed feel they are well-covered by their health plans. With satisfaction like that, where"s the crisis? (Doug Reichardt), 6/4). Don"t Delay Action On Health Care - Forbes The political risks surrounding health care aren"t going away, and future events could reduce Obama"s popularity. That"s why now is the time to act (John Zogby, 6/4). A Soda Tax To Fund Health Care? Think Again. - USA Today By reaching into Americans" grocery carts, Congress and the president would be resorting to regressive taxation, as the burden of these beverage taxes would disproportionately fall on those earning less (Dick Armey, 6/4). This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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