Donations to Patient Assistance Charities
The Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently released a favorable advisory opinion, OIG Advisory Opinion No. 24-02 (the “Opinion”) to a nonprofit organization that provides...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
On September 18, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued Advisory Opinion 20-05. In this unfavorable Advisory Opinion, OIG declined to approve a pharmaceutical...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
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
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
On Jan. 4, 2018, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an open letter containing guidance regarding the provision of certain free drugs to federal healthcare program beneficiaries. Specifically, the OIG stated that...more
On November 28, 2017, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) rescinded advisory opinion 06-04, in which it had previously determined that a charity’s (Requestor) proposal to provide assistance to financially needy Medicare...more
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (the OIG), on November 28, 2017, issued a Rescission Letter terminating Advisory Opinion Number 06-04 (Advisory Opinion 06-04). In Advisory Opinion...more
As we discussed last week, Nevada’s Governor has signed into law SB 539, which provides sweeping transparency legislation related to several aspects of the pharmaceutical industry. Nevada joins several other states in...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
On November 13, 2015, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion 15-14. The Arrangement at issue is a charitable program designed to assist financially needy...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
On January 29, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its plan to propose changes to the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program (EHR Incentive Program). According to CMS, the rule will address...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
On May 21, 2014, the Office of the Inspector General ("OIG") of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a Supplemental Special Advisory Bulletin ("Supplemental Bulletin") addressing the risks that Independent...more
On July 29, 2013, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) released a memorandum report finding that Medicare paid more on average for short inpatient stays than for...more