Life Sciences Legal Update : Life Sciences Lawyers & Attorneys : Reed Smith Law Firm : Healthcare, Food and Drug Law, Biotechnology, Privacy, Product Liability

This post was written by Elizabeth O’Brien and Joseph W. Metro.

On March 5, 2010, the Office of Pharmacy Affairs published a Final Notice allowing covered entities to use multiple contract pharmacies in order to supplement “in-house” pharmacy services or to increase patient access to 340B drugs. This Final Notice replaces “Notice Regarding Section 602 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992; Contract Pharmacy Services (61 Fed. Reg. 43,549) and all other previous 340B Program guidance regarding non-network contract pharmacy services.

Under the Public Health Service Act’s Section 340B drug pricing program, manufacturers who sell covered outpatient drugs to specific federal grantees, federally-qualified health center look-alikes and qualified disproportionate share hospitals (“covered entities”) must agree to charge less than the statutorily-prescribed maximum price for those drugs, which results in significant savings on drugs for the covered entities. Previously, the Health Resources and Services Administration ("HRSA") Office of Pharmacy Affairs had specified procedures under which discounts could be made available to covered entities engaging a single contract pharmacy, and had conducted an Alternative Methods Demonstration Project program in which HRSA approved a limited number of covered entities using multiple contract pharmacies.

Effective April 5, 2010, the Final Notice permits all covered entities to use multiple contract pharmacies. The guidelines in the Final Notice give covered entities and contract pharmacies a great deal of freedom in structuring their contract pharmacy services agreements, so long as they implement and maintain mechanisms to ensure compliance with 340B Program rules, especially against diversion of drugs. To learn more about the Final Notice, including compliance guidelines, potential alternatives to the single location/single pharmacy model and suggested contract provisions, read the full alert. 

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This post was written by Paule Droualt-Gardrat, Juliette Peterka and Julie Gottenberg.

On December 10, 2008, the European Commission published a series of political measures and legislative proposals, the so-called “Pharmaceutical Package.” This series included the “Communication on a renewed vision for the pharmaceutical sector,” which reflected on ways to improve market access and develop initiatives to boost European Union (“EU”) pharmaceutical research. Through the Pharmaceutical Package, the European Commission aims to make pricing and reimbursement more transparent, increase the development of pharmaceutical research within the EU, improve the safety of medicines worldwide, and reinforce cooperation with international partners.

The European Commission has published three separate sets of proposals amending Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community Code of medicinal products and Regulation 726/2004 on medicinal products obtained through centralized procedures:

1.  A proposal amending Directive 2001/83 as “regards information to the general public on medicinal products subject to medical prescription” (Information to patient);
2.  A proposal amending Directive 2001/83 and a proposal amending Regulation 726/2004 as “regards pharmacovigilance” (The EU pharmacovigilance system); and,
3.  A proposal amending Directive 2001/83 as “regards the prevention of the entry into the legal supply chain of medicinal products which are falsified in relation to their identity, history or source” (Counterfeit Medicines).

Read Reed Smith's full alert outlining proposed amendments to Directive 2001/83/EC and Regulation 726/2004.

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This post was written by Lorraine Mullings Campos and Steven D. Tibbets.

On December 12, 2008 the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) Council’s Final Rule – which applies to all federal government contracts in amounts greater than $5 million and more than 120 days in duration, including small business and commercial item contracts -- went into effect, requiring all federal contractors to disclose wrongdoing to the federal government, including certain violations of federal law, and violations of the False Claims Act. Specifically, contractors must “timely” disclose, in writing and to the Inspector General and the contracting officer (in that order), whenever, in connection with the award, performance, or closeout of a contract, the contractor has “credible evidence” that a principal, employee, agent, or subcontractor has committed a violation of federal criminal law involving fraud, conflict of interest, bribery or gratuity violations under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or a violation of the False Claims Act.

In addition, the rule requires contractors to establish a “business ethics awareness and compliance program,” as well as an “internal control system” with certain attributes. In addition, significant overpayments by the government must be disclosed to the contracting officer. Failure to disclose violations of federal criminal law or violations of the False Claims Act may lead to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, suspension, or debarment.

Click here to view an an alert highlighting this and other major issues likely to impact government contracts businesses in the coming months and years.

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This post was written by Elizabeth Carder-Thompson and Andrew L. Hurst.

A dizzying array of civil and criminal provisions address false or fraudulent representations made to, and false claims filed with, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and federal health care programs. This attached article, first published by the American Health Lawyers Association, briefly identifies relevant criminal and civil provisions relating to these issues, and then focuses more closely on recent uses of the civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) in government investigations of health care providers, suppliers, and manufacturers, including a section on state false claims legislation. Finally, it discusses the issue of distinguishing overpayments from false claims and provide information on the voluntary disclosure program of the Office of the Inspector General (“OIG”) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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This post was written by Lorraine M. Campos, Gregory S. Jacobs and Brett D. Gerson.

On November 12, 2008, the Civilian Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations Council issued an amendment to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to establish: (1) mandatory disclosure requirements for certain violations of federal criminal law and the False Claims Act; (2) requirements for contractors to establish and maintain specific internal controls to detect, prevent, and disclose improper conduct in connection with the award or performance of any government contract or subcontract; and (3) new causes for suspension and debarment. See 73 Fed. Reg. 219, 67,064 (Nov. 12, 2008). The final rule went into effect December 12, 2008, and applies to all federal government contracts in amounts greater than $5 million and more than 120 days in duration, including small business and commercial item contracts. Certain exceptions are discussed in the attached.

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This post was written by Elizabeth Carder-Thompson, Gina M. Cavalier, Matthew E. Wetzel.

On December 18, 2008, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (“AdvaMed”), the national trade association of medical technology manufacturers, issued a revised Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals (the “AdvaMed Code” or “Code”). The revised AdvaMed Code, which becomes effective July 1, 2009, contains several changes that will significantly impact the medical device industry. These include:

• The addition of guidelines for the payment of royalties to health care professionals;
• The inclusion of a new section on the provision of evaluation and demonstration products to customers at no charge;
• More comprehensive guidelines for furnishing reimbursement and health economics information to health care professionals;
• A prohibition on the provision of entertainment and recreation;
• A prohibition on the provision of non-educational branded promotional items such as pens, notepads, mugs and similar items; and
• Increased restrictions on the provision of restaurant meals or meals at other off-site venues.

The Client Alert discusses the principal changes to the AdvaMed Code, highlights several compliance considerations that medical device companies should consider when implementing the revised Code and includes a chart detailing the original and revised AdvaMed Codes and highlighting the new provisions that will become effective in July 2009.

Reed Smith was honored to serve as outside counsel to AdvaMed in connection with drafting both the current and the revised Code and would be pleased to answer any questions or provide additional information.

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Reed Smith partner Karl Thallner just published "Health Care Reform During the Obama Presidency: The Impact on Hospitals" in BNA's Health Care Policy. Karl discusses several aspects of the Obama plan, including access to coverage, individual mandates, delivery and payment, and transparency. As the article notes, "[t]o the extent that health care reform reduces the uninsured population, hospitals could benefit through a reduction in uncompensated care and bad debts. In addition, hospitals may see increases in patient volumes with the reduction in the uninsured."

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The Reed Smith Health Industry Washington Watch blog has been updated to discuss a variety of regulatory and legislative developments of interest to the life sciences and health industry, including the following:

• Legislative Developments: President Bush signed into law mental health parity legislation and funding for HHS and other federal agency programs through March 6, 2009. Congress also has cleared online pharmacy and organ transplant bills that now await the President's signature.
• CMS Developments: A new CMS initiative to combat Medicare DMEPOS and home health fraud and abuse; CMS guidance on Medicare payment of certain routine costs associated with clinical trials; CMS release of “Medically Unlikely Edits” used by Medicare contractors to prevent payment for excessive services; and waiver of certain hospital quality reporting requirements in hurricane areas.
• Regulatory Developments: Revised FY 2008 Medicare hospital inpatient PPS rates; solicitation of members for the DMEPOS competitive bidding advisory committee; a final rule on Medicaid self-directed personal assistance services; a final rule revising the Medicaid definition of "multiple source drug"; and FDA reporting requirements for authorized generics.
• OIG and GAO Developments: The OIG has released its FY 2009 Work Plan, supplemental compliance program guidance for nursing facilities, and reports on nursing home deficiencies. The GAO has issued reports on trends in Medicare imaging services and hospital-associated infections.
• Upcoming Events: CMS is hosting a conference on DMEPOS supplier accreditation and provider calls on adoption of the ICD-10 coding system.

For details on these and other health industry developments, please visit healthindustrywashingtonwatch.com.

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This post was written by Karl A. Thallner, Jacqueline B. Penrod, Amie E. Schaadt and Brad M. Rostolsky.

I.  INTRODUCTION

On Aug. 9, 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (“DPW”) published its proposed regulations for assisted living facilities operating within the Commonwealth. (Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 38, No. 32, Aug. 9, 2008.)  The proposed regulations were drafted in response to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s enactment of Act 56 on July 25, 2007. Act 56 amended the statute regulating and licensing personal care homes by creating, defining, and providing for the regulation of a new form of facility to provide long-term care services within the state: the assisted living facility. 

The development of the assisted living facility is a significant change in the current continuum of care and should be of interest to all owners, developers, and administrators of personal care homes and nursing homes operating within the Commonwealth. By obtaining licensure for assisted living, both nursing homes and personal care homes will have the ability to attract a greater range of individuals who wish to remain in a single facility and avoid undergoing transfers when their conditions improve or worsen. The change is also relevant to continuing care retirement communities (“CCRC”) that wish to provide, and advertise that they provide, the full continuum of care. Furthermore, the change is relevant to hospitals because assisted living facilities may provide a new option for discharging patients who need a higher level of residential care, but who do not require around-the-clock skilled nursing care. Of course, the alternative of assisted living is significant to patients and prospective patients who may require residential care. Parties interested in submitting comments, questions, and suggestions to the DPW must do so by Sept. 15, 2008. 

As noted above, the newly enacted legislation and its implementing regulations represent a significant change in the Commonwealth with regard to the provision of long-term care services. The central focus of the Act is the concept of “aging in place,” which is defined as the receipt of “care and services at a licensed assisted living residence to accommodate changing needs and preferences in order to remain in the assisted living residence.” Under the Act, the assisted living facility is defined as “any premises in which food, shelter, personal care, assistance or supervision and supplemental health care services are provided for a period exceeding twenty-four hours for four or more adults.” Thus, an assisted living facility essentially functions as a natural extension of the personal care home setting, and thereby allows an individual to remain in one place while receiving a heightened level of service and care as physical needs increase.

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A lesser-known provision in the Medicare Program allows payment for "reasonable and necessary" items or services provided through clinical trials. At the same time, even for traditional reimbursement, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) increasingly is demanding evidence of effectiveness in the Medicare population, rather than simply in the general population, to support a coverage decision. The federal government has sought, often without much success, to increase participation by Medicare recipients in clinical trials, because Medicare recipients traditionally have been underrepresented in research populations--meaning the very evidence CMS seeks for traditional reimbursement often does not exist. Developments regarding these reimbursement policies by CMS are the subject of an informative and timely article for the FDLI UPDATE by Reed Smith attorney Kathleen McGuan.

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This post was written by Paule Drouault-Gardrat and Julie Gottenberg.

Under French Law, pharmacies benefit from a monopoly on the sale of medicinal products. This monopoly covers reimbursed and non-reimbursed pharmaceutical products. Once they are de-reimbursed, the price setting is free. This is indeed a very important market for the approximately 23,000 French pharmacies, as the current government follows a policy of dereimbursement.

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Calendar year 2008 has begun where 2007 ended, by presenting us with a number of legal developments impacting the provision of outpatient surgical care. Keeping up with such developments is a challenge for those of us whose careers revolve around representing outpatient surgical facilities. Keeping up for those who actually own and/or operate such facilities as part of their practices may simply be impossible.

Accordingly, this post details our discussion of selected recent developments in the outpatient surgery arena to be useful. This alert and others that we will forward do not purport to be exhaustive accounts of legal developments impacting ASCs or physician-owned hospitals nationally. Rather, we have identified developments that we found particularly interesting in that they address common themes or questions that we frequently encounter.

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President Bush has signed into law S. 2499, the “Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007." Most notably, the legislation postpones for six months a 10.1% across-the-board cut in Medicare physician payments that was scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2008.

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This post was written by Debra McCurdy, Carol Loepere, and Elizabeth Carder-Thompson.

I. INTRODUCTION

On January 8, 2008, CMS announced the second phase of Medicare competitive bidding for durable medical equipment (“DME”), prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (“DMEPOS”). In this second round, competitive bidding will be implemented in 70 areas, including the nation’s largest cities. The complete list of areas can be found at Appendix 1. With very limited exception, only suppliers who are successful bidders in these regions and who meet program standards (including accreditation) will be eligible to furnish eight categories of DMEPOS to Medicare beneficiaries beginning next year. Successful bidders will be paid based on the median of the winning suppliers’ bids for each of the selected items in the region, rather than the Medicare fee schedule or supplier bid amount.

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