Feds continue probe of selling free drug samples
June 1, 2000 less than 1 minute read
Feds continue probe of selling free drug samples
As many as 100 urologists have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department as part of an ongoing national investigation into questionable billing practices involving two prostate cancer drugs, Lupron and Zoladex.
Specifically, the government wants to determine if physicians charged Medicare for free samples given to them by drug makers. Billing for free samples is a felony under the federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act. It also may be a violation of the federal anti-kickback statute.
According to sources, investigators are looking at the billing practices of physicians in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, and South Carolina.
Other states also may be targeted. One Indiana urologist already has been charged with billing Medicare and other payers between $400 and $550 for each of the free cancer drug samples he received. If convicted, the physician faces maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
"Physicians who bill Medicare carriers or Medicare patients for sample or starter’ medications given them gratis by pharmaceutical companies seriously risk running afoul of the law," according to a statement by the American Urological Association. It recommends that providers keep any sample drugs separate from purchased medications, maintain records on the samples, and keep accurate records on those medications in case of a Medicare audit.
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