A federal appeals court has revived a whistleblower-led False Claims Act suit alleging AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Sanofi overcharged Medicare and Medicaid through 340B “penny pricing” violations, sending the case back to district court to proceed. Government—not providers—holds enforcement po
By Jonathan Stempel
March 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing four large drugmakers of defrauding the federal and state governments out of hundreds of millions of dollars by overcharging on medications for low-income and uninsured patients.
In a 3-0 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena, California said AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis and Sanofi must defend against claims they violated the federal False Claims Act through their involvement in the Section 340B Drug Pricing Program.
Created by Congress in 1992, the program lets medical providers buy drugs at discounted prices, and at no more than $0.01 -- known as "penny pricing" -- when the drugs' statutory ceiling prices fall below zero.
Adventist Health System/West, a Roseville, California-based nonprofit with more than 440 hospitals and clinics, said many years of overcharges by the four drugmakers caused Medicare and Medicaid to pay inflated...
By Jonathan Stempel March 17 (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday revived a whistleblower lawsuit accusing four large drugmakers of defrauding the federal and state governments out of hundr...