RX BENEFITS GROUP LAYS PRICING BLAME AT DRUGMAKERS’ FEET

http://www.bna.com/rx-benefits-group-b57982082329/

This is – to me – AMAZING… it has been reported that these PBM’s and insurance companies … DEMAND up to 70% rebates/kickbacks from the Pharmas… in order to keep their particular medications on the PBM’s approved formulary. They also control what the pharmacy is paid when they fill prescriptions… basically controlling the gross/net profit of pharmacies. Because they are technically “licensed as an insurance company… they are EXEMPT from the Sherman Anti trust Act so they can do many things that are ILLEGAL for every other business – like prices fixing and they can even collude without any legal consequences.

When the PBM industry came into being… prescription costs were abt 6% of total medical expenses… today they are about 12% of all medical expenses and PBM’s – like Express Scripts – is showing a 2 + BILLION NET PROFIT… and basically the only service that they provide is not much more than the services provided by entities like Master Card, VISA, Discover and American Express charge cards.  So wonder why Congress does not repeal the McCarren- Ferguson Act that provides for the Sherman Antitrust Act exemption to the insurance industry… maybe it has something to do with the fact that the Insurance industry has one of the largest $$$ political paks and employ a very large number of lobbyists ?

Pharmaceutical companies may be blaming others for high drug prices, but they’re the ones who set the prices, the head of a pharmacy benefit manager group told me Oct. 27.

“We understand that the drug industry is in a desperate situation right now and is lashing out at a lot of different groups in order to deflect attention,” said Mark Merritt, president and chief executive officer of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA). “But ultimately, the drug manufacturer sets the price, and I think you have to start there.”

Drugmakers are under heavy scrutiny by lawmakers, consumers, medical professionals and presidential candidates for their pricing practices. Most recently, generic drugmaker Mylan Inc. came under attack for increasing the cost of its EpiPen allergy injection by 400 percent in nine years.

Meanwhile, Matt Gorman, the strategic campaign communications director at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), told me Oct. 31 “the list price is not what the manufacturer generally makes on the drug,” and “at the end of the day, the insurer really determines what a person actually pays for a drug.”

Gorman said, “There’s been a lot of shouting about price, and I think it really started to amp up when insurance companies were looking for a scapegoat, essentially after premiums had to skyrocket for them under the” Affordable Care Act.

Insurers “needed to find a scapegoat and even their own data, which they’re required to disclose under that same law, show that drug prices are clearly not the reason for increased premiums,” Gorman said. “They’re a very small portion of that.”

Stay on top of new developments in health law and regulation with a free trial to the Health Law Resource Center.

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My provider is from a huge hospital and is being mandated to practice under their guidelines. I was informed by my provider prior to the actual release of the CDC guidelines that in 90 days I would be on 2 LA and 4 IR medications. This date for reduction 5/11/16. On 5/15/16 I started & went through 11 days of severe withdrawal, lost my F/T job in Healthcare & I’m slowly declining with each passing day.
I’ve been advocating for ALL CNCP patients for many years as I know the DEA has been targeting our physicians for many of them. I don’t understand how or why physicians in pain management are following guidelines not meant for them except, since the DEA lost the War on Drugs they’re going after those without them. I know without a doubt that the DEA played a crucial part in allowing illegal drugs into our country. I have proof of or wouldn’t be making these accusations just as I have proof of the real numbers of those that have died from opioids from a physician who did the math. The CDC, FDA DEA & all involved need to stop the genocide against their own people and allow those with a license who know their patients to practice medicine.the CDC admits & knows that suicides have increased since these guidelines and we’re keeping count of ALL who are taking their lives because they can no longer get adequate pain control if there ever was such a thing. Yes, it’s against the ADA & if we can find an attorney I have numbers in masses lining up to join up for a class action suit against the government. They’ve been sued before and lost and will be sued again.

I am not an attorney, but the lost of a job caused at the hands of others is a HARM that should be able to be sued to make the person ” financially whole”. When the harm is INTENTIONALLY CAUSED… the $$$ damages should be MUCH HIGHER and easy to prove in a court of law. I would think that one of these attorneys that are ALL OVER TV offering to sue those who have harmed others… normally as a result of a auto accident and will do so on a contingency basis… If they don’t win … you owe them nothing.

Normally our legal system puts little value on the “value of the life” of those that are disabled/handicapped, elderly/retired or unemployable… because they are no longer a productive member of our society.

If those in the chronic pain community that are being made unemployed because of prescribers following the CDC opiate dosing guidelines – which do not bear the weight of the law –  and get the attention of some of these personal injury attorneys… These CDC guidelines may end up being the “gift that keeps on giving”… all it will take is 1-2 successful cases… to cause a tsunami of lawsuits by personal injury attorneys for denial of care and personal harm

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The thing that I feared the most in this world happened today. My pain doctor (who is the department head of Palliative Care at Jewish Hospital) told me that she has been ordered to eliminate all outpatient pain patients. This is a woman who has gone to bat for me, brought me back to life. Never once judged or doubted me, gave me what I needed with a smile and compassion. I am utterly devastated, and literally feel like someone died…and it might be me.

There are three major “hospital players” in the Louisville, KY market … Baptist, Norton and Jewish… with Norton and Jewish being the “bigger dogs” on the block.  I have seen this happening in retail pharmacy… the major players are chains and there is an increasing number of Pharmacists that are just “employees” of these corporate giants… and IMO… the chains are dictating to these employees how they will practice pharmacy – forget what authority the Pharmacy practice act gives the pharmacist – Who gets care – if they get care – and how much care they can get is seemingly being DICTATED by someone within the corporate structure that would appear to be TOTALLY OUTSIDE OF THEIR WHEELHOUSE… but starting your own pharmacy or any other healthcare practice… is nearly financially prohibitive.

It would now appear from this situation with Jewish Hospital in Louisville.. that the EMPLOYED head of the Palliative care … has been DICTATED to… to no longer care for out pt chronic pain pts. Could this be considered a prelude to some sort of genocide… discrimination against a protected class under the Americans with Disability Act… or an encouragement to the pts to just exercise their final option to resolve their chronic pain ?

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Will DEA Regulations Hinder EMS Use of Controlled Substances?

epmonthly.com/article/will-dea-regs-hinder-ems-use-controlled-substances/

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DEA Action Continues Catch-22 of Marijuana Research

http://www.painmedicinenews.com/Commentary/Article/11-16/DEA-Action-Continues-Catch-22-of-Marijuana-Research/38436

By Lynn R. Webster, MD

A 57-year-old firefighter with chronic neck and back pain left a comment on my blog asking, “If they can send a man to the moon, why can’t they make a medication with no side effects that is not addictive and that can control pain?”

My response is that we have the ability, but not the will. To find safer, more effective analgesics, we first must prioritize the search but have failed to set a national policy to do so. The search will take time and commitment, because psychoactive properties, which may prove harmful, have been difficult to isolate and eliminate from compounds that also have sufficient analgesic properties to relieve severe pain.

A Catch-22

Take, for example, the marijuana issue. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently denied a petition to move marijuana out of Schedule I, the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), citing a high potential for abuse, no accepted medical use in the United States and an unacceptable level of safety for use even under medical supervision (Denial of Petition To Initiate Proceedings To Reschedule Marijuana, 81 Fed Regist 53688 [Aug. 12, 2016] [to be codified at 21 CFR Chapter II and Part 1301]). The action continues the catch-22 described in my previous Pain Medicine News column, in which the restrictive scheduling severely constrains the research needed to conclude whether marijuana has safe and effective medical uses in pain treatment (“Chronic Pain’s ‘Medical Refugees’: What Muddled Medical Marijuana Laws Have Wrought.” 2016;14[3]:14).

In theory, the DEA supports efforts to research the medical potential of marijuana—an agency representative pointed out that the DEA has never denied a request to conduct research that was filed using FDA protocols. However, the DEA may be operating with a law enforcement bias in keeping with its role to enforce the CSA and, perhaps, reinforcing a stigma that dates from the Nixon administration (the 1970s) when the agency was charged with preventing drug abuse.

A case in point: A blogger for The Washington Post took Chuck Rosenberg, the DEA acting administrator, to task for comments calling medical marijuana “a joke” and exhibiting hesitation in conceding that heroin may be more dangerous (“The DEA Chief Called Medical Marijuana ‘a Joke.’ Now Patients Are Calling for His Resignation.” Washington Post Nov. 10, 2015). A DEA representative later walked back Mr. Rosenberg’s comments, and said he was addressing smoked marijuana and conceded that certain marijuana components have shown promise as medicines, but also stressed that these components lack safety and efficacy data sufficient for approval as medicines.

And so we come full circle with that catch-22 again. Yet with few safe and effective pain treatments, federal drug policy regulators should take seriously that marijuana has not been associated with overdose deaths, as distinguished from prescribed and nonmedical opioids. They also should weigh carefully evidence from the National Bureau of Economic Research that indicates states with medical marijuana dispensaries had an associated 15% to 35% decrease in substance abuse admissions for opioids and similar reductions in opioid-related overdose deaths and abuse from prescription opioids (“How Medical Marijuana Could Literally Save Lives.” Washington Post July 24, 2015).

Indeed, much of the tension over marijuana appears to stem from official fears that medical marijuana is not well regulated. This is a position espoused by the American Medical Association, which—while calling for the loosening of regulation to facilitate research—simultaneously warns of a lack of safeguards at the clinical level. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who opposes legalizing marijuana, has taken positions to prevent it, as a psychoactive substance, from becoming more available to the population at large. He, too, understands the catch-22 of research restriction.

Legislative Hope

There is hope, then, that restrictions hampering research may be lifting. Rep. Harris, along with Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Sam Farr (D-Calif.) and H. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), have introduced legislation to “cut through the red tape” of marijuana research (“Don’t Reclassify Marijuana Yet—Research It.” Washington Post Aug. 15, 2016).

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If it becomes law, the Medical Marijuana Research Act of 2016 would:

• expand the number of research facilities (currently, the University of Mississippi is the only federally licensed place to grow marijuana for research purposes);
• cut down on the time it takes for researchers to acquire research-grade marijuana (it can often take years);
• remove levels of federal review to approving research (currently, the DEA, the FDA and, sometimes, the National Institutes of Health must sign off);
• shorten the window of time to approval; and
• change criteria for approval to presume the research is in the public interest unless otherwise shown.

This “carve-out” legislation would not change marijuana’s schedule but would provide a thoughtful step forward to ensure marijuana is subject to the same standards of safety and efficacy as other FDA-approved medications.

Meanwhile, the glacial pace of necessary research conflicts with the need of patients with pain and the widespread public health disaster of misused opioids. With new legislation on the horizon to cut out regulatory obstacles to research, is this the year we will find the will to do better?

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Lynn R. Webster, MD, is a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine and author of the award-winning book, “The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why It Matters to Each of Us.” Visit www.thepainfultruthbook.com. He also is a member of the Pain Medicine News editorial advisory board. He lives in Salt Lake City.

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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

is a mental disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, or other threats on a person’s life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder

If you notice part of the definition is WARFARE… and chronic pain pts are unwillingly participants in the war on drugs. There is basically three different groups involved in this war… the DOJ/DEA, healthcare providers, patients.

Of course, the DOJ/DEA is the AGGRESSOR ! … and unfortunately being funded by the other two participants – via their taxes.

I recently posted about a chronic pain pt who was a victim of a prescriber’s office being raided/ shut down by the DEA and committed suicide   Just another STATISTIC of the WAR ON DRUGS ? how many suicides goes unreported ?

They had to classify it as a SUICIDE… because he was found with TWO BULLET WOUNDS (one on each side of his head) and TWO GUNS in his lap…. I guess it was nearly impossible to classify this as a “opiate related death”.

I got a fairly disturbing phone call today from a disabled senior citizen. Lives in a very rural state and not a lot of healthcare provider options. Over several months, the pt’s PCP – who had been seeing the pt for YEARS ) had been reducing the pt’s opiate doses over several months until the pt only had enough medication to have SOME PAIN RELIEF for abt 6 hrs a day… the rest of the day the pt ended up in bed… suffering in pain.

Yesterday, the pt called the PCP and said that the pt could no longer deal with the majority of the day in PAIN and was not sure if the pt could continue to live like this…

Shortly afterwards, two local COPS showed up at the pt’s front door … being told to take the pt … to the local hospital… Reluctantly the pt went with them.. and the compassionate healthcare providers in the ER.. would only suggest that the pt SEE A PSYCHIATRIST  and discharged the pt.

Fortunately, the PCP has expressed concern – about time – and the pt has an appt – pt had to wait ALMOST A WEEK TO BE SEEN BY THE PCP… and the PCP stated that he was going to change/increase the amount of opiates that he would provide the pt.  I remain skeptical until I talk to the pt next week after the PCP appt.

How many chronic pain pts – who is having their opiates reduced – or have been “tossed to the curb” because the DEA has raided/shutting down a prescriber office.. that could be diagnosed as having PTSD ?

Is this just pt/senior abuse/torture …. denial of appropriate care … or your basic human rights violation…  Remember our society’s OUTRAGE when some things were released of how the TERRORISTS in GITMO were “mistreated “.

Apparently the Geneva Convention protections only applies when two or more nations are at war… doesn’t apply to CIVIL WARS… which would seem to be what the WAR ON DRUGS IS…

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Fentanyl-Related Deaths “Major Concern” Says Lubbock County M.E.

http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/kamc-news/fentanyl-related-deaths-major-concern-says-lubbock-county-me

The DEA is suppose to keep ILLEGAL DRUGS off our streets… all of these Acetyl Fentanyl OD’s is being illegally imported from outside of our borders. Since these Acetyl Fentanyl OD’s are rapidly increasing ACROSS THE COUNTRY .. does this STRONGLY SUGGESTS that the DEA is FAILING their primary charge.  We are spending 51 BILLION/yr and > ONE TRILLION since 1970 funding the war on drugs… Isn’t that the definition of either INCOMPETENCE or a FAILURE ?

The death of Lubbock resident Jameson Hess, 20, after overdosing on the powerful narcotic Fentanyl, is just one of several being investigated by local and federal law enforcement. Fentanyl is infiltrating the South Plains, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

“I am so scared. I can’t even believe there’s something that potent out there,” Jameson’s mother, Jennifer Hess, told KXAS. “He barely had a pulse. They tried to resuscitate him for several hours. He was pronounced dead at 5:58 a.m.”

Hess, a Colleyville native, died September 9, in Lubbock.

Lubbock County Medical Examiner Dr. Sridhar Natarajan performed the autopsy. He told EverythingLubbock.com his office has seen an increase in Fentanyl-related deaths since February.

“This has now become a major concern. It’s a public health issue, and it’s at a point where major organizations or agencies are being very active and aggressive in seeing how they can control or stop this from taking place,” Natarajan explained.

He said that between January 2014 and February 2016, toxicology results showed four cases of Fentanyl overdoses. He added that since then, he has worked “potentially 6 cases” in the “past few months.”

“We have 4 since June,” he stated. “If you just think of the numbers, they’ve dramatically gone up, and the age group we’re talking about is in the 20s and 30s.”

Natarajan said his office was continued to work with D.E.A. and local law enforcement on investigations related to Fentanyl.

“It has infiltrated the West Texas area, and once agencies are sitting down and talking to each other like the D.E.A. that we’re well aware that it’s a very significant issue,” Natarajan explained.

D.E.A. spokesperson Russell Baer said it was “premature to link” any South Plains deaths to the October 27 drug bust, but explained that federal investigators are aware of Hess’ case, and acknowledged that there were others. Baer could not say exactly how many deaths being considered by investigators.

He said agents at the local and federal levels were looking into “how it happened and who may be responsible.”

Dr. Juan Fitz, with Covenant Health, stated that more college-aged individuals are coming into the emergency room for treatment.

“Unfortunately we have an opioid problem in the United States. Heroin has gone up. The reason it’s gone up, because there is more control from the government, and physicians ordering narcotics for painkillers. So now they’re looking for other sources,” Fitz explained.

“Problem is that Fentanyl [is] 10 times stronger than the heroin, so you don’t know how to ingest is properly. So, what happens is they become overdosed,” said Fitz.

Fitz added that though they’re mostly younger people, he has seen overdose patients of all ages.

“Basically high school kids, 17 years olds, into the 60s and 70s,” he said. “We are seeing it more commonly unfortunately, in the younger age, but there’s a big spectrum.”

“We see that it’s escalating, and we’re not going to be surprised if we see more of these deaths taking place in a short period of time,” Natarajan added.

Natarajan said dealers are constantly changing the chemical makeup of the drug in order to keep it under the radar from authorities.

“It’s being brought in in a way where D.E.A. and other agencies like ours are trying to identify the molecular structure that’s being changed to avoid detection,” he explained.

“We’ve noticed this increase has occurred, we’re all sitting at the table together to try to resolve it,” Natarajan stated. “Some of these very quick decisions that young adults can make about what they’re thinking is exciting or may provide some source of entertainment or escape, that it can be their last day.”

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California Voters Will Decide on Drug Price Standards Initiative

http://www.ajmc.com/focus-of-the-week/1116/california-voters-will-decide-on-drug-price-standards-initiative

The bureaucrats are focused on saving the state money on medication THEY PAY FOR… so this is only going to effect those medications paid for Medicaid pts and state employees… The rest of the people in California will pay the full rack rate and who believes that the Pharmas will not raise their prices across the board… so that their gross revenue and net profits will not be altered… that means that everyone else is going to have to pay higher co-pays and insurance premiums for their medications.

Among the measures on the ballot for Californians this Election Day is Proposition 61, the Drug Price Standards Initiative. The measure, which would restrict the amount state agencies pay for drugs, has a multitude of supporters and opponents who have amassed a combined $125.84 million in contributions as of Monday.

Among the measures on the ballot for Californians this Election Day is Proposition 61, the Drug Price Standards Initiative. The measure, which would restrict the amount state agencies pay for drugs, has a multitude of supporters and opponents who have amassed a combined $125.84 million in contributions as of Monday. California Proposition 61 would require that state agencies purchase all prescription drugs at or below the price paid for that drug by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which pays the lowest of any federal agency for prescription medications.

Supporters of the measure say that Proposition 61 would save taxpayers billions and fight price gouging by drug companies. However, according to the legislative analysis in the California Voter Information Guide, the measure’s potential to reduce state spending on drugs is complicated by uncertainties regarding the measure’s implementation and the reaction from drug companies.

The VA’s public database on prescription drug prices does not always reflect the actual cost paid, because in some cases “the VA has negotiated a lower price than that shown in the public database and is keeping that pricing information confidential,” the guide explained. This confidentiality could make California agencies “unable to assess in all cases whether state agencies are paying less than or equal to the lowest price paid by the VA for the same drug.” However, it noted that because the publicly available VA prices are still generally lower than those paid by California state agencies for some drugs, the measure could help the state spend less on prescription medications.

The voter guide also named drug manufacturer responses as a major unpredictable factor that will determine the measure’s financial impact. The manufacturers could raise VA drug prices, or they could simply refuse to offer California agencies the reduced price, since the measure does not force them to lower prices. In that case, the state would have to either negotiate down to the VA price or only purchase drugs the VA does not purchase, which could be more expensive than the drugs bought before the measure.

Veterans groups including the California chapters of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Vietnam Veterans of America, the American Legion, and AMVETS have opposed the measure out of concern that it could lead to drug companies raising prices for the VA. However, supporters of the measure say that this scenario could not occur.

“As the former chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, I would never support a measure that harms our veterans,” wrote Senator Bernie Sanders in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times. “Pharmaceutical companies cannot unilaterally raise the prices of drugs it sells to the VA. The most the VA pays for a drug is either the best commercial price minus discounts and rebates, or the average price paid by pharmacies minus a large discount, whichever is lower. Those price caps are set in law. The VA also receives additional discounts if drug prices rise faster than general inflation.”

Proposition 61’s supporters have claimed that the opposition is hardly motivated by concern for veterans, citing the $105 million that the “No on Prop 61” committee, largely funded by pharmaceutical companies, has spent so far campaigning against the measure.

“Drug companies are planning to spend $100 million to fight this measure because they know it would cause downward pressure on ALL drug prices—and cut into their excessive profits,” according to the official argument in favor of Proposition 61 in the California voter guide.

Supporters and opponents of the measure have raised more than $125 million in total contributions as of Monday, making it the costliest measure on any ballot nationwide this Election Day. Californians heading to the polls will have to wade through the barrage of conflicting television commercials, billboards, and newspaper ads about Proposition 61 to decide how to cast their vote on November 8, 2016.

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NFL Players Say Marijuana Use Reduces Need for Painkillers

nationalpainreport.com/nfl-players-say-marijuana-use-reduces-need-for-painkillers-8831844.html

by Ed Coghlan

ESPN has released a survey of football players that chronic pain patients should note. The players said that if marijuana is legal, they use fewer painkillers.

Marijuana is legal in 23 states for medicinal purposes but remains one of eight drugs banned under the NFL’s policy and program on substances of abuse.

The ESPN survey is consistent with other data being gathered regarding marijuana use.  The National Pain Report reported on a study from the University of Georgia showed that if your state has approved the use of medicinal cannabis, there is a quantifiable decline in the use of traditional prescription drugs.

ESPN writes: Sixty-one percent of players in the survey said they believed fewer players would take pain-killing shots such as Toradol if marijuana were a legal option. Toradol is the most common anti-inflammatory taken by NFL players, and 64 percent of the survey’s respondents said they had taken an injection of it or another pain killer.

Still, 71 percent of the NFL players said they believe marijuana use should be legal. Four states — Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon — allow recreational use and voters in five more states, including California, will vote on the issue Nov. 8. Four additional states are considering initiatives involving marijuana for medical reasons. One of them—Montana—is voting to repeal its use.

NFL may be moving on finally allowing the use of marijuana. It appears the potential for relaxation is being driven by the public’s change in its (our) attitude toward the use of marijuana.

As Divya Ramesh of the University of Connecticut wrote recently, marijuana appears to work but we don’t know because it isn’t studied enough:

” Research in people suggest that certain conditions, such as chronic pain caused by nerve injury, may respond to smoked or vaporized cannabis, as well as an FDA-approved THC drug. But, most of these studies rely on subjective self-reported pain ratings, a significant limitation. Only a few controlled clinical trials have been run, so we can’t yet conclude whether cannabis is an effective pain treatment.”

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National lawsuit claims drug company taking advantage of heroin epidemic

http://www.live5news.com/story/33541833/national-lawsuit-claims-drug-company-taking-advantage-of-heroin-epidemic

GREENVILLE, SC (FOX Carolina) –

Thirty-six states including North and South Carolina have filed a lawsuit against a drug company, claiming it unlawfully pushed other competitors out of the market and then increased the prices of a prescription drug.

The opioid epidemic is a major issue in the United States. Drug Free World Foundation said about 9.2 million people are addicted to heroin
and another 13 million take opioids. Suboxone is a prescription drug that was created to cut those numbers down.

We asked Upstate medical experts to weigh in on the medication.

Amanda Leche is Emergency MD’s lead physician’s assistant in Greenville.  

“They kind of have the market cornered on that product. There’s no other product to treat opiate addiction like Suboxone,” Leche said.   

But there’s a reason this drug is the only one of its kind. Reckitt Pharmaceuticals put this drug on the market in 2002 in a tablet form. Suboxone was then patent protected for seven years, preventing competitors from making a cheaper generic version.

“So the makers of Suboxone realize they were about to lose their patent on the pill which means a generic could be made. And they would stop making their money. So what they did was they came up with an alternative form of Suboxone in a sub lingual patch.”

That patch is a dissolvable strip. The drug company created a new company called Indivior,  created the dissolvable strips and then pushed doctors to prescribe the strips over the pills.

As a result, 36 states including North and South Carolina have filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming it unlawfully pushed other competitors out of the market and then increased the pill prices. Meanwhile promoting their patented strips. Those actions they say go against state and federal antitrust laws.  

 “Most of the Suboxone clinics or methadone clinics, are indeed government funded or funded by public a taxpayer money. And therefore, one thing I saw was that it could be up to $5000 per year for Suboxone treatment per patient.”

North Carolina attorney general Roy Cooper said in a press release: 
“Prescription drug abuse is a serious problem in North Carolina and those trying to recover from it suffer if artificially high costs make it harder for them to get treatment.” 

The makers of the drug Suboxone gave this statement: 

“The company continues to take these allegations seriously, intends to defend this and other related actions, and will continue to cooperate with the relevant u.s. Government agencies in their investigations of the company.”

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are investigating.

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