Insights
White Collar Principals Rowland and Newcomer Examine Impact of PharMerica Settlements for American Society for Pharmacy Law
In the July/August 2015 issue of Rx Ipsa Loquitur, the newsletter publication of the American Society for Pharmacy Law (ASPL), Internal Investigations & White Collar Defense Principal Barbara Rowland, and Principal Matthew T. Newcomer, examine potential dual False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act liability for Medicare Part D and Medicaid providers.
The article looks at the issue against the backdrop of recent settlement agreements between PharMerica Corporation and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The authors note:
"The PharMerica settlement exemplifies the current interests of the government, and whistleblowers, in using the False Claims Act to recover substantial damages and penalties for not uncommon violations of the CSA [Controlled Substances Act] and its regulations - violations that until now typically had been resolved by DEA through civil penalties or administrative remedies."
