Pharma Front Groups Have Conspired to Keep Drug Prices High by Blocking Online Information about Lower-Priced Options
PharmacyChecker.com News Release, August 14, 2019 Brand-name medicines often cost 80 to 90 percent less from licensed pharmacies in Canada and other countries than from pharmacies in the U.S. But, according to a lawsui filed today by PharmacyChecker.com in the Southern District Court of New York, a conspiracy involving front groups for Big Pharma is keeping these lower-priced drugs out of reach of millions of Americans. “We have fought Pharma rhetoric for many years. But now we need the courts to fight what we see as an underhanded flow of misinformation distorting online search results, denying Americans information to safely access affordable medicine,” said Tod Cooperman, M.D., founder and CEO of PharmacyChecker.com, which verifies international online pharmacies and compares their drug prices. “As prescription drug prices continue …
Continue Reading >Pharmaceutical Industry Is Biggest Defrauder of the Federal Government under the False Claims Act
\The drug industry has now become the biggest defrauder of the federal government, as determined by payments it has made for violations of the False Claims Act (FCA), surpassing the defense industry, which had long been the leader, according to a new Public Citizen study released today. The study found that pharmaceutical cases accounted for at least 25% of all federal FCA payouts over the past decade, compared with 11% by the defense industry. The fraud results were a key finding from a Public Citizen analysis of all major pharmaceutical company civil and criminal settlements on the state and federal levels since 1991 and found that the frequency with which the pharmaceutical industry has allegedly violated federal and state laws has increased at an alarming …
Continue Reading >Boston Bans Cigarette Sales in Pharmacies
In an effort to reduce exposure to the harmful effects of tobacco, the Boston Public Health Commission has approved banning the sale of tobacco products at health and educational institutions, including pharmacies and drug stores and college and university campuses. The ban is scheduled to take effect in mid-February. Violators can be fined from $200 to $1,000. Boston Public Health Commission Regulation Restricting the Sale of Tobacco Products in the City of Boston Whereas, tobacco is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and lung cancer, which has a correlation to smoking, has been the leading cause of cancer death among Boston residents; Whereas, tobacco is currently sold in health care institutions such as pharmacies and drug stores; Whereas, the sale …
Continue Reading >Medication Safety Alert: Intravenous Colchicine
The Oregon Poison Center has become aware of two deaths associated with the treatment of back pain by using daily doses of IV colchicine in a practitioner’s office. Colchicine was once used to treat gout, but has been largely abandoned for that indication because it was associated with severe toxicity and deaths in high doses. In the two fatal local cases, doses of 1-2 mg IV were reportedly given daily. Clinicians should be warned that it is unadvisable to use doses greater than 2 mg at any one time, and the drug should not be used daily or in repeated injections. These two fatal cases are under investigation and it is unclear whether the deaths were caused by a dosing error or manufacturing error. Symptoms …
Continue Reading >Medicare Fights New Schemes to Defraud Beneficiaries
Medicare Beneficiaries Warned to Be Aware of Scams Surrounding New Medicare Drug Benefit The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is warning Medicare recipients to be wary of schemes being played off the new Medicare Rx prescription drug program. In one scheme, people shopping for a Medicare prescription drug plan are asked to withdraw $299 from their checking account to pay for a plan that does not exist. A more recent scam involves a new Medicare card instead of a prescription drug plan. The dollar amount requested by phone callers is usually $350, $365, or $379. As part of the new scams, callers are now asking for bank information or telling beneficiaries they can provide a new Medicare card for a fee. The new …
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