Charity for Gain: DOJ Eyes Patient Assistance Program Fraud

Pharmaceutical companies are facing increasing DOJ scrutiny over payments made to charities that help poor patients afford medication.

United Therapeutics, Aegerion, and Pfizer have resolved claims over alleged kickbacks paid to charities to subsidize the purchase of high-cost prescription drugs. These recent settlements in which the companies paid tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as an initial agreement with Jazz Pharmaceuticals, indicate the Department of Justice is on the prowl for other health-care companies that may be misusing charities, according to health lawyers who talked to Bloomberg Law.

These numbers suggest pharmaceutical companies need to make ...