Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles
Burdock Root

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).
generic viagra online
QIAGEN Launches Novel Product Enabling Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnostics And Cancer Detection
QIAGEN announced the launch of a novel product for extraction of free circulating fragments of tumor- and fetal-derived nucleic acids as well as viral nucleic acids in human blood. Scientists consider these DNA and RNA fragments to have great potential for the highly sensitive and non-invasive diagnosis of a wide range of diseases, including congenital disorders, malignancies such as colon and lung cancer, and infections. The new QIAamp Circulating Nucleic Acid Kit is expected to significantly facilitate the corresponding biomarker research and the introduction of novel molecular tests in prenatal diagnostics which can replace risky, invasive procedures such as amniocentesis.
News of the day
Some Medical Providers Slow To Adopt Electronic Records, Prescribing
"Digital medical records could cut down on office visits," and maybe even health care costs, Marketplace reports. "But for doctors, going electronic could be complicated and expensive. And nothing at all like what they learned in medical school." Relatively few doctors have made the switch so far, though new government incentives, funded by the stimulus bill, could shift the industry into gear. The doctors who have pioneered e-health have confronted a newish industry with few standards. One recalled that his early adoption of the records in 2003 was "a disaster," though he is now touted as an example for other practices (Carroll, 7/20).
Diagnostics

Today's Selection Of Opinions And Editorials

Delay Vacation, Not Health-Care Reform The Des Moines Register This is no time for elected officials to take a summer vacation. There is too much momentum - unprecedented momentum - that could be lost by putting this on a shelf until Congress reconvenes (7/24). Waterloo Might Be Preferable The (New York) Daily News The back-and-forth feels so familiar - lather, rinse, repeat - we forget to ask an important question: Is DeMint"s theory right? (Josh Greenman, 7/24). Costs And Compassion The New York Times The talking heads on cable TV panned President Obama"s Wednesday press conference. You see, he didn"t offer a lot of folksy anecdotes. Shame on them (Krugman, 7/23). Kill The Rhinos! The New York Times Forget the wonkery. Let"s get primeval. Rising health care costs are a stampede of big ugly rhinos (Brooks, 7/23). Why Obamacare Is Sinking The Washington Post Once you commit your fantasies to words and numbers, the Congressional Budget Office comes along and declares that the emperor has no clothes (Krauthammer, 7/24). Now We"re A Bogeyman The Ottawa Citizen The fastest way to shut down debate about health care, in Canada or the United States, is to accuse your opponent of advocating the other country"s system (7/23). 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.


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009