Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

 Feds want states to get tough on hot-button issue for drugmakers If you haven't gotten the picture yet that Medicaid drug rebates are becoming a key issue in pharmaceutical-related health care fraud enforcement, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee. The HHS Office of Inspector General is scouring state records nationwide to make sure Medicaid agencies are doing their job to secure the rebates - and it's calling on many states to do a better job. The fact that the feds are so concerned with the issue is important for drug manufacturers, since the cost of settling alleged fraud connected with rebates can reach into nine figures. In its latest round of reviews, the OIG assessed rebate accounting in eight states. Illinois is doing a good job on rebates, according to the OIG, while Connecticut and Rhode Island had middling results. Pennsylvania, Oregon, Iowa and Utah all needed to take measures to get their programs in order, the reports say. To see the reports, go to http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/oas/cms.html. Lesson Learned: Pharmaceutical company compliance officers should put Medicaid drug rebate compliance near the top of their to-do lists.