In a recent case, Forest Laboratories LLC, located in New York, New York, and its subsidiary, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc., agreed in December 2016 to pay $38 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying "kickbacks" through payments and meals for alleged sham speaking programs to induce physicians to prescribe the drugs Bystolic®, Savella®, and Namenda®.
The civil settlement resolves a qui tam lawsuit filed by former Forest employee Kurt Kroening, in federal court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that the federal government and some state governments joined. The allegations were that Forest violated the Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits the payment of remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federal health care programs, by providing payments and meals to certain physicians in connection with speaker programs about Bystolic®, Savella®, or Namenda® between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011.
The United States contends that the payments and meals were intended as improper inducements because Forest provided these benefits even when the programs were cancelled (and Forest provided no evidence of a bona fide reason for the cancellation), when no licensed health care professionals attended the programs, when the same attendees had attended multiple programs over a short period of time, or when the meals associated with the programs exceeded Forest’s internal cost limitations.
Physicians who receive payments or meals from drug companies for speaking need to ensure that they do the speaking, that the programs are current and occurred. In the Forest case, the physicians received payments even when the speaking programs were cancelled. It would also be good practice to notify patients in writing when prescribing medications for which payment has been received that they have received payments from the drug manufacturer.
Posted by Tracy Green, Esq.
Email: tgreen@greenassoc.com
Office: 213-233-2260
The United States contends that the payments and meals were intended as improper inducements because Forest provided these benefits even when the programs were cancelled (and Forest provided no evidence of a bona fide reason for the cancellation), when no licensed health care professionals attended the programs, when the same attendees had attended multiple programs over a short period of time, or when the meals associated with the programs exceeded Forest’s internal cost limitations.
Physicians who receive payments or meals from drug companies for speaking need to ensure that they do the speaking, that the programs are current and occurred. In the Forest case, the physicians received payments even when the speaking programs were cancelled. It would also be good practice to notify patients in writing when prescribing medications for which payment has been received that they have received payments from the drug manufacturer.
Posted by Tracy Green, Esq.
Email: tgreen@greenassoc.com
Office: 213-233-2260
