New York Attorney General Letitia James today led a 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 $6.6 million for New York, with the remainder going to Medicare, Tricare, and the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).
“When pharmaceutical companies put profits before patients, New Yorkers suffer,” said Attorney General James. “Patients must be able to trust that their doctors’ recommendations are in their best interest, and not the result of gifts from a drug company. Gilead undermined our health care system with illegal kickback payments, and now they are being held accountable. I will continue to fight for New Yorkers’ right to honest, transparent health care.”
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. In New York, Gilead held dinners at several upscale restaurants including Del Posto, Asiate, and Palma. Gilead also held 157 HIV Speaker Programs at the James Beard House, making it one of Gilead’s most used venues for HIV Speaker Programs…