After kickback scandal, is taking Rebif tainted?

[ActiveMSers]

The $44 million in fines is deserved, but it doesn't help those of us MSers who took the drug on the advice of our neurologists... who may have gotten a kickback. Which begs the question to those whose who were prescribed the interferon during this time: was it the right drug for you then ... and is it still the right drug for you now? - Dave

Merck KGaA Units Pay $44 Million to Settle False-Claims Suit

May 4 (Bloomberg) -- Merck KGaA units agreed to pay $44.3 million to settle allegations the company submitted false claims to U.S. health-care programs because doctors were paid to prescribe its multiple sclerosis drug Rebif, the U.S. said.

The government accused Merck KGaA’s Serono Laboratories Inc. and EMD Serono Inc. of making payments to health-care providers for hundreds of meetings and programs at upscale resorts where Rebif was promoted. The settlement was filed in a whistleblower lawsuit in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, and made public today.

Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/201...aims-suit.html

[Stella]

Wow Dave, that is really interesting. It would be really interesting to hear if that was their only option when prescribed the drug or did they discuss other drugs as well.

[AMFADVENTURES]

Merck KGaA Units Pay $44 Million to Settle False-Claims Suit

To me, this lawsuit, and I’m sure many others, begs the larger question of just how corporate America does conduct business in our country. I did read the actual suit but since I’m not an expert in “legalese”, I won’t risk spreading false information by trying to summarize it. You can read it for yourself here: http://freepdfhosting.com/543bcc781b.pdf
Anyone who’s really interested should probably download the PDF before it vanishes.

I’m afraid that capitalism, in its present state, is not a pretty system. It is deeply involved in years and years of lobbyists influencing politicians to write legislation that promotes the interests of large corporate industries frequently at the expense of the citizen and consumer. IMHO, many things have been legislated which, if they had not been, would be illegal by their very nature.

The bottom line to me though, is this. The vast majority of money used to conduct clinical studies, disseminate information on available treatments, pay for various MS related screenings for the low income and uninsured, and pay for drug therapy for the low income and uninsured comes from the drug companies. Also, I don’t know what percentage of income comes from the various government entitlement programs, Medicare, Medicaid, etc, but I suspect most clinics and doctors could not thrive based solely on these sources of income, including private pay and insurance. Also, the very terms low income and uninsured go hand in hand for many with the diagnosis of MS.

Maybe the court was right to fine Merck Serono without requiring an admission of guilt, maybe I really don’t want to look into this too deeply because maybe I don't have a better solution just now.

AMF

Lawyer: “I want the truth!”

Colonel: (shouting) “YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!”

From the movie “A Few Good Men”

[Bigrushfan]

Hi Dave,

The truth and nothing but the truth; wouldn’t it be nice for change?

Sure enough, Merck KGaA is not the only company making meds for MSers to be taken to court for foul play. Teva, the firm that makes Copaxone, has recently been under investigation for violating antitrust laws (a fancy term for price fixing) by the European Commission. You can find info on this case on the internet if you want to read up on it.

As you have aptly summarized in this thread, ours is not a perfect health care system and is driven by lobbyists promoting corporate interests usually at someone else’s expense. There is a limit, however, to how cynical I can be. After all, you are right to say that these companies pay a great deal for the programs to provide treatment for the uninsured and those with low income. Understandably, much of that cost is passed along to the insured, higher income people.

The bottom line for me is this: These are for profit companies and there has to be accountability. I’m talking about the kind of truth in doing business that simple folk like me can understand. The kind of accounting that doesn’t have me running to a legal dictionary every third word. Yes, I too am not fluent in “legalese”

Getting the bad news about having MS five years ago was one thing, but getting over the shock of how much the meds cost was even harder to comprehend. Since then I have always looked at the pharmaceutical companies with a degree of caution and suspicion. Just try calling one of these big companies on the phone when you want to know why the cost per month of your drug just doubled and see how far you get. Even if I can’t handle the truth, I still want to know why the cost my prefilled syringe of glatiramer acetate costs as much as it does.

Although our lawmakers and the big companies are often in cahoots, I for one am glad that there are mechanisms in place when things run amok.

John

[ActiveMSers]

Good points AMF, John. And the problem runs throughout virtually everything healthcare related. Activia yogurt just got busted with a $22 million fine for exaggerating claims (it worked no better than a placebo except when taken in large quantities). Even supplements, which aren't regulated so the government doesn't actively investigate claims, have had to tone it down in cases. Airborne had to pay $23.3 million in a class-action lawsuit for false advertising.

It's not surprising that every for-profit company in the healthcare/supplement/diet world has a common goal: profit.