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By stan_sipple

Missouri Supreme Court halts disciplinary action against national pharmaceutical distributor that had plead guilty in federal court to taking kickbacks from Lupron prescriptions' Medicaid reimbursements because the State's settlement agreement with the distributor released it from fines, penalties and administrative actions. TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., d/b/a Pharmacy Solutions, Respondent, v. State Board of Pharmacy, Appellant.: SC88318

TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., d/b/a Pharmacy Solutions, sought to reverse the Board of Pharmacy's decision placing its pharmacy permit on probation for three years. In September 2001, TAP agreed to plead guilty to the offense of conspiracy to violate the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, 21 U.S.C. sections 331(t) and 333(b). TAP provided free samples of the drug Lupron to physicians with the expectation that those samples would be prescribed to patients and then illegally billed to the Medicaid program. The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts accepted TAP's guilty plea on December 6, 2001. The company settled with the State of Missouri by paying a fine of nearly $2million along with a release of further administrative fines, penalties and actions. Supreme Court of Missouri reverses.While the agreement promises to further fines or penalties, and license revocation is remedial in nature, the broader meaning of penalty may include disciplinary actions. Pharmacy licensure discipline is primarily remedial in nature. However, that characterization does not preclude the Board's actions from being described as a penalty. Finally the release language includes any administrative claim or any action seeking exclusions from the state of Missouri's Medicaid program." The court holds that the "or" between "administrative claim" and "any action" meant that the parties did not limit the release of administrative claims to the state medicaid program.

Full post as published by Showmeblawgs on November 24, 2007 (boomark / email).