Healthcare Fraud

The Fraud Behind the Fraud of Off-Label Drug Marketing

By Gordon Schnell It has been one of the most common means for drug companies to get around what can be the very rigorous and time-consuming process of securing FDA approval for selling drugs.  That is, taking drugs that the FDA has approved as safe and effective for one particular use and marketing them to the medical community and the public for an entirely different set of uses.  This so-called off-label...

What is Going On With Big Pharma?

By Gordon Schnell With GlaxoSmithKline’s recent blockbuster $3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice -- the largest health care fraud penalty on record -- you have to wonder what is going on in the world of Big Pharma these days.  This is an industry that constantly complains of being misunderstood, underappreciated and unfairly maligned.  And there is some legitimacy to their lament.  Afterall,...

Johnson & Johnson’s Risperdal Woes Roll On

By Jason Enzler The hits keep coming for Johnson & Johnson.  On August 30, several state attorneys general announced that they have agreed to a $181 million settlement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a J & J subsidiary, regarding charges that the company was illegally promoting its antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega.  Click here for a press release from New York.  The settlement, involving 36 states and the...

The Government's New Public-Private Partnership in Tackling Healthcare Fraud – Seeking Prevention Over Punishment

By Marlene Koury The government has done a good job of late in recovering billions of dollars of fines from a host of companies big and small for committing various acts of healthcare fraud.  The recoveries so far for this year alone have been record-setting, on their way to crossing the $10 billion mark.  And this number is sure to grow even higher as the Obama Administration continues to ramp up its efforts to...

Partnering With Former Fraudsters and Conflicted Parties to Root Out Health Care Fraud -- Is the Government Letting the Fox Guard the Hen House?

By Marlene Koury The government announced last week that it would be partnering with Amerigroup in its new public-private partnership to prevent health care fraud.  If “Amerigroup” and “fraud” in the same sentence sound all too familiar, it is not because of the company's track record in fighting fraud.  Rather, it is likely because Amerigroup paid $225 million in 2008 to resolve claims that it defrauded...

Here We Go Again -- Johnson & Johnson to Pay Upwards of $2.2 Billion to Settle Civil and Criminal Charges

By Jason Enzler Only a few weeks after GlaxoSmithKline's blockbuster $3 billion settlement over its healthcare fraud misdeeds relating to Paxil, Wellbutrin and Avandia, Johnson & Johnson is joining the party with a multi-billion dollar settlement of its own.   Though it has yet to be finalized, the Wall Street Journal reported that Johnson & Johnson and the DOJ have reached an agreement requiring the company to...

Big Pharma Strikes Again – Glaxo Settles Largest Healthcare Fraud Case in History

By Jason Enzler Earlier this month, GlaxoSmithKline entered into the largest settlement in healthcare fraud history -- a whopping $3 billion -- to settle a broad range of criminal and civil charges involving the company’s drugs and marketing practices.  Glaxo’s settlement easily surpasses the previous record for healthcare fraud, Pfizer’s $2.3 billion payout in 2009 to settle criminal and civil charges for...