Novartis Pays $12.6M Fine for Giving Inaccurate Pricing Data to Medicare

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

In what the federal government says is the largest such settlement ever reached, Sandoz has agreed to pay $12.64 million to resolve allegations that it misrepresented pricing data on medicines that were provided to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Sandoz, which is owned by Novartis NVS -0.48% and markets hundreds of generic drugs in the U.S., allegedly misrepresented the average sales price data to Medicare between January 2010 and March 2012, according to a statement from the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

A Novartis spokeswoman writes that the drug maker did not admit to any liability or wrongdoing. “Sandoz continues to be committed to providing high-quality, affordable medicines to U.S. patients and conducting business with customers and the government with integrity.” As part of the settlement, Sandoz agreed to provide certification that it established a government pricing compliance program.

As the OIG explains, Medicare uses the pricing data to set payments for most drugs covered under Medicare Part B, which are typically administered by a physician or health care provider. These may include injectable or infused medicines for treating cancer and osteoarthritis, among other maladies.

http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/must-read/novartis-pays-126m-fine-for-giving-inaccurate-pricing-data-to-medicare