New York State v GlaxoSmithKline
On February 13th 2003, exactly eleven days
after the publication of Dr
Rath's first Open Letter exposing the financial interests behind
the
pharmaceutical 'business with disease' New York State Attorney
General Eliot
Spitzer filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of
New York
against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) for making fraudulent and deceptive
misrepresentations that conceal the true average wholesale price
of its drugs
from consumers, Government agencies and drug price reporting services.
US Government health plans such as Medicare, Medicaid and EPIC
(Elderly
Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage Program) base reimbursement for
covered
drugs in large measure on the average wholesale price. Consumers
pay a
coinsurance or co-payment for drugs reimbursed by Medicare, Medicaid
and EPIC.
As a result of GSK’s misrepresentations, doctors and other
healthcare
providers are improperly induced to prescribe GSK’s drugs
and government
payers and consumers, including the elderly and the catastrophically
ill, pay
artificially inflated sums for chemotherapy and other drugs.
The Attorney General of the State of New York has brought this
action to stop
GSK’s 'illegal and deceptive actions' and to 'obtain restitution
for the
consumers and state government agencies defrauded by GSK.'
The ongoing public information initiative conducted by Dr Rath
and this
Foundation through the worldwide publication of Open Letters has
enabled
governments, the media and anyone who is against the practices
of
the 'business with disease' to take action and be openly critical
of that
industry, without fear of the threat of a legal backlash.
The pharmaceutical industry is now fair game!
A copy of the Complaint
in PDF format may be downloaded here.
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