STAT+: Gilead to pay $45 million to settle kickback charges filed by Texas attorney general — SkimNews
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- Gilead agreed to pay $45 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks which improperly influenced prescriptions covered by Texas Medicaid, becoming the latest pharmaceutical company to reach a Texas deal over marketing practices.
- Texas pursued the claims alongside a whistleblower who also sued, alleging that Gilead paid another company to hire registered nurses to recommend its drugs.
- Gilead faced allegations that it offered doctors free support services tied to prescribing its drugs, with the lawsuit asserting that the arrangement resulted in false claims filed with government programs.
- Health Choice Advocates and related firms filed whistleblower suits against several drugmakers nearly a decade ago, alleging that third-party contractors deployed nurses by phone or in patients’ homes to ensure prescriptions were refilled.
Why it matters: Gilead’s agreement to pay $45 million is the clearest material consequence, while Texas Medicaid is the specific program at issue. The case also ties contractor-deployed nurses and free physician support to alleged false claims, linking the enforcement action to whistleblower suits filed against several drugmakers nearly a decade ago.
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