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OIG Issues Advisory Opinion Allowing Pharmaceutical Company’s Payment of Travel, Food and Lodging Expenses for Indigent and Rural Patients Thursday, January 14, 2021
In its final Advisory Opinion of 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) approved a pharmaceutical company’s request to provide financial assistance to patients who were prescribed a cancer drug that the company manufactured. In Advisory Opinion 20-09, the OIG determined it would not impose sanctions under the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) or beneficiary inducement provision of the Civil Monetary Penalties Law (CMP) for an arrangement where a pharmaceutical manufacturer covers the expenses for qualifying patients for travel, lodging and limited out-of-pocket expenses (i.e., meals) related to the treatment of the patient with the manufacturer’s drug. The drug is subject to a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which includes elements to