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Attorney General Murrill secures over $200 million from Gilead Sciences for paying Illegal Kickbacks
Attorney General Murrill today joined coalition of 48 other attorneys general in securing $202 million from Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead), for running an illegal kickback scheme to promote its HIV medications. Gilead violated federal law by illegally providing incentives – including awards, meals, and travel expenses – to health care providers to prescribe Gilead’s medications, resulting in millions of dollars of false claims submitted to government health care programs, including New York’s Medicaid program. The settlement in principle, reached in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice and approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, provides $49 million for Medicaid programs nationwide, including the $1,143,135.00 to Louisiana, which includes the Federal portion, restitution, relator's share and additional damages. The remainder is going to Medicare, Tricare, and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
“Louisiana patients deserve transparency when it comes to their healthcare information. I will not tolerate companies who enrich themselves through illegal kickback schemes to the detriment of our citizens,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.
From January 2011 to November 2017, Gilead violated federal anti-kickback laws by providing gifts to health care providers who attended and spoke at promotional speaker programs for Gilead’s HIV drugs: Stribild, Genvoya, Complera, Odefsey, Descovy, and Biktarvy. Gilead paid high-volume prescribers tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars to present as “HIV Speakers.” The company also covered travel expenses for speakers, including those traveling long distances and to attractive destinations, such as Hawaii, Miami, and New Orleans, and hosted dinners at high-end restaurants.
Gilead’s internal compliance mechanisms failed to halt these violations. The company maintained policies and procedures that failed to prevent its sales representatives from improperly offering incentives to induce prescriptions.
Joining Attorney General Murrill in securing settlements with Gilead are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Louisiana MFCU receives 75 percent of its funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under a grant award totaling $9,147,916 for Federal fiscal year (FY) 24/25. The remaining 25 percent, totaling $3,049,304 for FY 24/25, is funded by Louisiana.