Illegal Kickbacks for Physicians?

...who's really pocketing the money?

Has the Department of Justice (DOJ) taken an interest in Big Pharma’s and device manufacturers’ illegal funneling of money to physicians and surgeons?

For decades we have known that pharmaceutical companies’ payments to medical doctors can influence which drugs they prescribe. Every year a torrent of cash and other types of compensation flows to physicians for the use of specific medications or hardware for implants.

The cash payments to physicians are often justified as compensation for doctors’ consulting duties, medical research, or royalties for inventing new techniques. In other cases, compensation for physicians comes in the form of paid trips, vacations, or expensive meals.

More creative pharmaceutical companies were found to pay for billboard space or other advertising to promote their favorite doctors. Other companies hired doctors’ relatives, paid for hunting trips, and mailed personal checks to their homes.

The DOJ has begun to heed whistleblowers who claim that when these monies change hands, it can corrupt medical judgment or tempt physicians to mis-diagnose or engage in wasteful operations.

So, who ultimately pays for these kickbacks? Taxpayers shoulder much of those costs through Medicare and Medicaid. In all cases, the costs were passed on to the consumers.

I’ve often wondered why medications in this country are more expensive in comparison to Canada and Mexico. The Department of Justice may soon identify many of those reasons.