DOJ Casting Wider Net In Pharma Kickback Probes

Government is pursuing behavior it once would have taken a pass on, former DOJ attorney notes; pharma companies have inked 16 settlements in past year.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 2018: Headquarters of the U.S. Justice Department. Art Deco aluminum torcheres at doorway. Renamed the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building in 2001. — Department of Justice has expanded scope of pharma activity that may violate anti-kickback statute

The US government's investigation of pharma companies for health care fraud violations has evolved in recent years, shifting from off-label promotion to anti-kickback allegations. And that has led the Department of Justice to pursue new areas of enforcement action.

"As companies become more compliant and the rules become stricter within industry, that doesn't mean the government has gone away,"...