Sanofi-Aventis Pays $95.5M in a Federal Claim

According to this article in bizjournals, Sanofi-Aventis will pay $95.5 million to settle a federal claim that accuses Aventis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of underpaying drug rebates it was required to pay into Medicaid between 1995 through 2000. The Justice Dept claims that $49 million of the settlement will be paid to the federal government, $40 million will be paid to the states, and the remaining $6 million will go to heath providers.

Read the full article here.

Wyeth called out by Medicaid

According to The AP, Wyeth cheated Medicaid out of millions of dollars by overcharging for a the stomach acid drug Protonix. The Justice Department has joined in two lawsuits that were started by whistle blowers.

The court papers claim that between 2000 and 2006, Wyeth offered steep discounts to thousands of hospitals for two versions of Protonix, a drug that suppresses stomach acid.

By law, manufacturers of brand-name drugs are required to offer the same rebates to state Medicaid programs that they provide to other customers.

The government claims the maneuver helped the company avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid, a health care program for the poor that is funded by state and federal money.

Read the full story here.

Bayer to Pay $97.5 Million to Settle Kickback Claim

From Bloomberg.com:

A unit of Bayer AG agreed to pay $97.5 million to settle accusations that it paid kickbacks to diabetic-equipment suppliers, the U.S. Justice Department said.Bayer Healthcare LLC was accused of giving $2.5 million to Liberty Medical Supply Inc. to persuade Liberty to provide its patients with Bayer diabetic-testing equipment such as testing strips and glucose monitors, the Justice Department said in a statement.Bayer also was accused of paying $375,000 in kickbacks to 10 other diabetic suppliers and causing them to submit false claims to Medicare, the government said. From 1998 through 2007 the suppliers filed false claims on the sales to get Medicare reimbursements, the statement said.“Paying health care suppliers to place a particular brand of device with Medicare beneficiaries violates the law and will not be tolerated,” said Gregory G. Katsas, assistant attorney general for the Civil Division.Bayer spokeswoman Susan Yarin said the payment puts the matter behind the unit, based in Tarrytown, New York.

For more information, please click here.