News Briefs: Senators Probe Lilly, Pfizer Telehealth Deals
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Oct 24, 2024
Four senators are questioning Eli Lilly & Co. and Pfizer, Inc., about their relationships with telehealth providers, raising the possibility of Anti-Kickback Statute violations. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sent nearly identical letters to the CEOs of Eli Lilly and Pfizer to glean more information about the telehealth platforms to which the companies direct patients seeking specific medications. The LillyDirect and PfizerforAll programs provide “talk to a doctor now” links through which patients connect with a telehealth provider who prescribes certain high-cost drugs via an online pharmacy. According to the HHS Office of Inspector General, “fraudulent aspects of these arrangements for prescribers may include: limited interaction with the purported patient, limited opportunity to review the patient’s medical records, and/or a directive to prescribe a preselected item, regardless of clinical appropriateness,” the senators wrote in their letter to Pfizer. “The nature of the PfizerForAll platform appears to reflect many aspects of the HHS OIG warning for potential fraud.” The senators requested the CEOs respond to a list of 13 questions by Nov. 25. Read more
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