The state of Connecticut recently enacted HB6669, which requires registration of pharmaceutical manufacturers employing sales representatives who interact with health care professionals (HCPs) in Connecticut. The portions of...more
On April 11, 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published Advisory Opinion No. 22-06, concluding that a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s sponsored genetic testing and...more
As we recently summarized online here, Oregon has approved a temporary rule implementing SB 763, which requires licensure of pharmaceutical sales representatives who visit health care providers in the state of Oregon for 15...more
A new ban on “Detailed Targeting” options for advertisers on Facebook and other Meta-owned social media platforms – which includes restricting marketing based on “health causes” – takes effect January 19, and may make it more...more
Taking effect January 1, Oregon recently approved a temporary rule implementing SB 763, which requires licensure of pharmaceutical sales representatives who visit health care providers in the state of Oregon for 15 or more...more
This morning, the U.S. House passed drug pricing legislation as part of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (specifically the Rules Committee version available here and the manager’s amendments available here). In prelude to...more
On August 6, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released an updated and enhanced version of its voluntary Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals (HCPs). The updated Code will take effect...more
The U.S. House of Representatives is considering dueling proposals related to drug pricing under Medicaid and Medicare, including the Republican-led H.R. 19, the “Lower Costs, More Cures Act of 2021” and a reintroduced...more
4/26/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Medicaid ,
Medicaid Drug Rebate Program ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Patient Access ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Regulatory Agenda
Companies in the life sciences and health care industry, like most companies, navigated unparalleled challenges in 2020. But unlike other industries, they had to do so while simultaneously facing the biggest challenge of all...more
On November 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) finalized its previously abandoned 2019 proposal to exclude certain rebates paid by drug manufacturers from the...more
11/25/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid Drug Rebate Program ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law
On November 16, 2020, the U.S. Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a rare Special Fraud Alert – a type of guidance historically used to signal enforcement priorities – “to highlight certain...more
On September 23, the HHS OIG published Advisory Opinion No. 20-05, advising that OIG found “highly suspect” a manufacturer’s proposal to create a copay subsidy program to help certain financially eligible Medicare...more
9/30/2020
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Anti-Steering Rules ,
Co-payments ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Manufacturers ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
OIG ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Subsidies
Earlier this month, the California Insurance Commissioner announced that AbbVie had entered into a settlement agreement with the California Department of Insurance (CDOI) to resolve allegations that the pharmaceutical...more
We are pleased to provide you with the third annual installment of our Life Sciences and Health Care Horizons guide. For each of these guides, we have asked our industry thought leaders throughout the world to write about...more
2/26/2020
/ 3D Printing ,
AIDS ,
Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Biosimilars ,
Biotechnology ,
Blockchain ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Digital Health ,
Drug Distribution ,
Drug Pricing ,
EU ,
Federal Funding ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Health Technology ,
HIV ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Device Data System ,
Medical Devices ,
Medical Software ,
Over The Counter Drugs (OTC) ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
PHI ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Procurement Guidelines ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Research and Development ,
Right to Try ,
Robotics ,
Supply Chain ,
Telehealth
Device and drug manufacturers got a small surprise in the annual Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule (at 40,713-16) issued late in July by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) – among many other things, the...more
8/16/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Biotechnology ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Life Sciences ,
Manufacturers ,
Medical Devices ,
Open Payments ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physician Fee Schedule ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Sunshine Act
Innovation in the life sciences and health care industries is occurring at a dizzying pace. Five years ago, anti-PD-1 antibodies from Merck and BMS had yet to be approved, CAR-T therapies were still in small-scale clinical...more
3/18/2019
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Asia ,
Biologics ,
Biotechnology ,
Data Breach ,
Digital Health ,
Information Technology ,
Life Sciences ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Supply Chain
In a significant step towards implementing its American Patients First blueprint for lowering prescription drug prices and patient out-of-pocket costs, the Trump administration has proposed a series of changes to the...more
2/11/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Comment Period ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Insurance ,
Incentives ,
Life Sciences ,
Managed Care Contracts ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare Part D ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Popular ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Rebates ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Safe Harbors ,
Trump Administration
On Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published Advisory Opinion No. 19-02, advising that OIG would not pursue enforcement under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) or the...more
On October 3, the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 6, the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (the SUPPORT Act), a wide-reaching bill that aims to...more
10/9/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pending Legislation ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Remuneration
The 2010 Physician Payments Sunshine Act created a new standard of transparency for financial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and health care professionals in the U.S. Now, countries across Europe are following...more
The New Jersey Attorney General plans to finalize new limits on payments and other benefits that New Jersey licensed prescribers may accept from pharmaceutical manufacturers, although the expected final rule is less...more
In the most recent salvo by states eager to show an effort to contain prescription drug costs, California's governor has signed into law a bill that will prohibit, with some limited exceptions, pharmaceutical manufacturers...more
Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and biologics have been closely watching the industry-wide investigation by the Boston U.S. Attorney's Office into manufacturer support of independent charitable foundations that assist...more
Drug manufacturers are once again facing new state limits on marketing and interactions with healthcare providers. Manufacturers should review the new laws and regulations carefully, consider how they might engage with the...more
A perennial question for manufacturers of drugs and biologicals that require specialized handling, storage, or reconstitution is how to handle circumstances in which the product is spoiled, breaks, or otherwise becomes...more