Pharmaceutical Fraud

Pharmaceutical fraud now accounts for the largest False Claims Act recoveries by the United States. and .qui tam relator whistleblowers.. With the advent of the Medicare prescription plan, even more federal tax dollars will flow into the pockets of large drug companies.illegally and in violation of law. And, the pharmaceutical industry is very powerful and very profitable. There are lots of financial pressures upon these companies and their employees to ignore federal laws designed to prevent fraud and curb costs.

Pharmaceutical fraud can take a variety of forms. Cases have involved such issues as:

• charging for drugs not used and returned to pharmacy providers;
• marketing promoting, and selling drugs for uses other than those approved by the FDA;
• marketing drugs to physicians through illegal means, such as providing financial or other benefits, like expense-paid .consulting. trips to doctors and providers who participate in drug marketing promotional meetings; and
• charging prices to the Government that are higher than is allowable by law.

As stated by the False Claims Act.s 1986 sponsor, Sen. Grassley of Iowa: .With billions of dollars of profits at stake in the health care industry, more must be done to deter the perception that fraud settlements are the cost of doing business with the federal government. Taxpayers can't continue to subsidize those drug companies that rely on ill-gotten profits. That's why I'm urging all the major drug companies to launch meaningful anti-fraud programs, with informing all employees about the False Claims Act as the centerpiece."

Unfortunately, anti-fraud education alone has not stopped pharmaceutical fraud. It is estimated that dozens of qui tam cases are currently pending, under seal, involving with still more pharmaceutical fraud schemes. Many more such pharmaceutical fraud schemes have yet to be reported to the United States by whistleblowers cases still to be filed.