Drug
behemoth Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is
being accused by the federal government of cheating the Medicaid system of
hundreds of millions of dollars. The case was initially brought by whistleblowers.
From the AP:
The court papers claim that
between 2000 and 2006, Wyeth offered steep discounts to thousands of hospitals
for two versions of Protonix, a drug that suppresses stomach acid.
By law, manufacturers of
brand-name drugs are required to offer the same rebates to state Medicaid
programs that they provide to other customers.
The government claims the
maneuver helped the company avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in
rebates to Medicaid, a health care program for the poor that is funded by state
and federal money.
"By offering massive
discounts to hospitals, but then hiding that information from the Medicaid
program, we believe Wyeth caused Medicaid programs throughout the country to
pay much more for these drugs than they should have," Assistant Attorney
General Tony West said in a statement.
Also,
in perhaps a last gasp of hot air, this
Wash Post article details how prominent Republican leaders have actively
spoken out recently in a unified voice to deny that human induced-global warming
is occurring. These leaders include GOP Chairman Michael Steele and House
Minority Leader John Boehner. From the Post:
"We're cooling. We're
not warming," Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele
said on a radio show in March.
"The idea that carbon
dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost
comical," said House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) -- although
nobody is on record as saying carbon dioxide causes cancer.
--
Dylan Blaylock
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