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340B Drug Pricing Program Compliance
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Welcome to Vital Signs, a curated compilation of the latest legal and regulatory developments in digital health. Our lead article reports on recent developments in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's ("FDA") regulatory...more
Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Rite Aid, ten subsidiaries, and affiliate pharmacies agreed to settle allegations that Rite Aid violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act...more
On July 10, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a nearly $410 million settlement with Rite Aid Corporation to resolve allegations that Rite Aid and its affiliates ignored red flags and knowingly dispensed unlawful...more
Despite the recent downward trend in DOJ healthcare industry settlements, the first quarter of 2024 saw many noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) and civil healthcare fraud settlements related to alleged kickbacks, medically...more
Despite the federal ban on the sale, use, and possession of cannabis in the U.S., in October, Georgia became the first U.S. state to allow pharmacies to sell low-dose tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products. Pursuant to statutes...more
On Wednesday, August 16, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling upholding parts of a Texas district court’s decision that would, if it becomes effective, severely limit access to mifepristone, one of two pills...more
There have been several noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) settlements in the second quarter of 2023. Four of these settlements have come in over $20 million. This post summarizes key settlements of interest....more
Oral arguments are scheduled for April 18, 2023, in the Supreme Court case combining two Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals cases U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu, Inc. (“SuperValu”) and U.S. ex rel. Thomas Proctor v. Safeway,...more
On February 7, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its annual False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for fiscal year 2022. DOJ recovered $2.2 billion from a total of 351 settlements and judgments—the second-highest...more
On March 30, 2022, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Manual J. Bojorquez, the owner of a marketing company, was sentenced to 36 months’ probation and ordered to pay restitution of $3.3 million for...more
The Situation: In what may indicate a sea change in terms of who the Department of Justice ("DOJ") is willing to pursue in False Claims Act cases, a private equity firm has been named as a co-defendant in a False Claims Act...more
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) recently issued proposed omnibus guidance (Omnibus Guidance) interpreting various provisions of the 340B Drug Pricing Program (340B Program). The 340B Program allows...more
A recent settlement by retailer Kmart Corp. illustrates the breadth of practices in the healthcare space that the government considers to be illegal kickbacks that violate the False Claims Act (FCA). The U.S. Department of...more
Described as the Rodney Dangerfield of the antitrust laws, the Robinson-Patman Act—which prohibits anticompetitive price discrimination—gets no respect. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission unapologetically...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that KMART Corp. (Kmart) has paid $1.4 million to settle a qui tam lawsuit brought by a former Kmart pharmacist under the False Claims Act (FCA). The lawsuit alleged...more
In order to predict what 2015 will look like in the war against health care fraud, it is necessary to quickly review what happened in 2014. In 2014, the government’s health care fraud prevention and enforcement efforts...more