Riad “Ray” Zahr, a pharmacist in Dearborn, Michigan, along with two specialty pharmacies that Zahr formerly owned and operated, have agreed to pay the United States $1 million to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims for the drug Evzio. Evzio was an injectable form of naloxone hydrochloride indicated for use to reverse opioid overdose. Evzio was the highest-priced version of naloxone on the market, and insurers frequently required the submission of prior authorization requests before they would approve coverage for Evzio.
The United States contended that, between Aug. 1, 2017, and June 30, 2019, Plymouth Towne Care Pharmacy dba People’s Drug Store (People’s Drug Store) and Shaska Pharmacy LLC dba Ray’s Drugs (Ray’s Drugs) submitted false claims for Evzio to Medicare. In particular, the government alleged that People’s Drug Store and Ray’s Drugs submitted false and misleading prior authorization requests for Evzio that contained clinical assertions for which the pharmacies lacked any factual basis. At times, Zahr and the pharmacies initiated Evzio prescriptions based on rudimentary patient lists with only basic biographical details. Zahr and the pharmacies also included assertions in Evzio prior authorization requests purportedly authored by prescribing physicians regarding the comparative effectiveness of Evzio that the pharmacies or Zahr actually authored. The prescribing physicians did not review, sign or submit the prior authorizations at issue. The...
The League clarified that its forums are intended to give voters a side-by-side look at candidates’ platforms, not to endorse contenders. The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area (LWVS...