Health
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- Written by: California Attorney General’s Office
Together, the settlements will result in these pharmaceutical companies making a nearly $70 million payment to the state.
These settlements include the largest pay-for-delay settlement received by any state and are also the only ones to secure injunctive relief for a state against future pay-for-delay agreements.
Pay-for-delay agreements allow a brand name drug company to continue its monopoly of a branded drug after its patent expires and to charge consumers higher prices.
The first settlement with Teva addresses anticompetitive pay-for-delay agreements that delayed a generic narcolepsy drug, Provigil, from entering the market for almost six years.
The three other settlements with Teva, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Teikoku address similar practices that prevented a generic version of the drug Lidoderm, a shingles medication, from entering the market for almost two years.
Pay-for-delay agreements are costly to consumers and the healthcare market, causing consumers to pay as much as 90 percent more for drugs shielded from competition.
“These dark, illegal, collusive agreements that drug companies devise not only choke off price competition but burden our families and patients – they force every Californian to shoulder higher prices for life-saving medication. It’s nothing less than playing with people’s lives,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Californians shouldn’t have to pay an arm and leg to afford their prescriptions. That’s why I am vigorously advocating for stronger laws, like AB 824 by Assemblymember Jim Wood, to deter this conduct and build on enforcement actions like the ones I’m announcing today. Together, these actions will help us push back on greedy drug companies and fight for California families.”
Pay-for-delay agreements occur when name brand and generic drug companies avoid litigation by agreeing that the brand name will compensate the generic to keep it from entering the marketplace with its generic version of the brand name drug for a period of time. The four settlements announced today, include:
Provigil settlement: Attorney General Becerra argued that Teva delayed entry of generic competition through four pay-for-delay agreements that illegally maintained its monopoly over Provigil sales between 2006 and 2012. This resulted in artificially high costs of Provigil for consumers. As a result, Attorney General Becerra secured $69 million for California and a 10-year injunction prohibiting Teva from entering into pay-for-delay agreements. As part of the $69 million settlement, a $25,250,000 consumer fund will be created for California residents who purchased Provigil, Nuvigil or Modafinil during this timeframe. Consumers can learn more details here. In addition, the money from the settlement will be used to strengthen Attorney General Becerra’s investigative and enforcement work in cases like these to protect affordable, quality healthcare for all Californians.
Lidoderm settlements: Attorney General Becerra argued that Teva, Endo Pharmaceuticals, and Teikoku entered into pay-for-delay agreements regarding Lidoderm, a medical patch to relieve shingles pain. In June 2019, Attorney General Becerra settled with Endo Pharmaceuticals, securing an eight-year injunction against further pay-for delay agreements and payment of $760,000. Attorney General Becerra also secured a 20-year injunction against Teikoku, a partner in the production of Lidoderm with Endo.
Californians who believe they are victims of Teva’s alleged misconduct may file a form available at www.oag.ca.gov/report, and they will be notified when the claims process has been established.
The settlement agreement can be found here.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Direct and indirect contact with the animals could put individuals at risk of developing Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli O157 (STEC O157) and other infections.
"Visiting animals can be one of the highlights of the fair," said Dr. Charity Dean, California Department of Public Health acting State Public Health Officer. "It is important to remember to practice good hygiene when working with or visiting animals."
Every year, infections and illnesses in children and adults after exposure to animals at county fairs, petting zoos, and farms have been reported to public health.
These have included bacterial infections such as STEC O157 and Salmonella, viruses such as swine influenza virus, and parasites such as Cryptosporidium.
There are steps you can take to protect you and your family at the fair, petting zoo, or other settings where farm animals are present:
· Wash your hands with soap and running water after touching animals or being in areas where animals are housed or exhibited, even if you did not touch the animal.
· Do not eat, drink, or put anything in your mouth while in an area where animals are housed or exhibited.
· Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth until you have exited the animal area and washed your hands with soap and running water.
· Do not take toys, pacifiers, cups, baby bottles, strollers, or similar items into animal areas.
· Always supervise children around animals and supervise handwashing for young children.
· Don’t let children sit or play on the ground in animal areas.
· Avoid contact with animals that look or act ill.
People in high-risk groups should take extra care around animals. These include senior citizens, children under five, pregnant women, and people with a weakened immune system or chronic health conditions.
“We want all California families to enjoy their local community fair, but it is important for them to know good common sense precautions and be sure to wash their hands after contact with animals,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.
If you develop any illness after visiting animal exhibits, including fever, vomiting/diarrhea, or flu-like symptoms, see your health care provider and inform them of your animal contacts.
For more information on how to stay healthy at animal exhibits, visit this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web page.
Additional information about STEC infections may be found on the California Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Under the proposal, DHCS will be transitioning Medi-Cal pharmacy services from its contracted managed care plans to its directly negotiated fee-for-service system; purchasing on behalf of 13 million enrollees, as opposed to the current 2 million.
“California will use our market power and our moral power to take on drug manufacturers and demand fairer prices for prescription drugs. And we will continue to move closer to ensuring health care for every Californian,” said Gov. Newsom on Monday. “Today’s announcement gets us one step closer to the goal.”
Just moments after being sworn in, Governor Newsom launched a series of first-in-the-nation actions to make health care more affordable for all Californians and to move the state closer toward the goal of health care for all.
Those proposals included Executive Order N-01-19 to create the nation’s largest single-purchaser system for drugs and to, ultimately, allow all Californians and private employers to sit together at the bargaining table across from big drug companies when negotiating prescription drug prices.
This executive order directed state agencies to review opportunities to expand existing bulk purchasing efforts for state, local and private sector entities and transition Medi-Cal pharmacy services from managed care into the fee-for-service delivery system to create significant negotiating leverage and substantial savings for the state.
Monday’s announcement brings the state closer to making that system a reality by creating the framework for a consolidated state negotiation and purchasing system for Medi-Cal pharmacy and a uniform Medi-Cal pharmacy provider network and pharmacy utilization policy while allowing Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans to retain all care coordination, pharmacy adherence and disease management responsibilities.
Earlier this year, the Governor announced that the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco, among the largest public purchasers of prescription drugs in California, will partner with the state to use our combined market power to take on drug companies and lower the cost of prescription drugs.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The settlement resolves allegations that the health insurer violated state and federal privacy laws arising from a 2014 data breach.
The settlement was the result of a multistate investigation and includes $10 million in civil penalties, of which California will receive $996,000.
It also includes significant injunctive terms requiring Premera to implement reasonable security to protect consumers’ personal and medical information and to maintain a compliance program.
“Consumers who entrust their health information to companies deserve security in return. Companies have a responsibility to protect consumers’ private information, especially sensitive health information,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Premera’s failure to protect the private information of millions of patients is unacceptable. This settlement should send a strong message to companies with loose data privacy practices: it doesn’t pay to cut security corners.”
The settlement stems from a data breach that was publicly announced in March 2015, where the personal information of 10.5 million consumers, including 400,000 Californians, was breached.
The data included the consumers’ names, Social Security numbers, bank account information, medical information, and health claims-related data. Attackers gained access to patient data by sending fake, targeted emails to Premera employees. These emails contained malware that allowed the attackers to spend months compromising Premera’s inadequately-secured network.
The multistate investigation found that the company lacked basic data security, failed to monitor its network for malicious activity, and disregarded experts’ warnings of security flaws. In addition, it failed to limit access to sensitive information, allowing employees without business need to access the information.
The settlement resolves allegations that Premera violated each state’s consumer protection and medical information laws, as well as the federal Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act, which established national standards and safeguards to protect personal health information.
A copy of the complaint can be found here and the proposed judgment can be found here.
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