Health Law Advisor

On October 24, 2018, President Trump signed sweeping bipartisan legislation to combat the opioid epidemic. The Substance Use–Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, or the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (“H.R. 6” or “the Law”), aims to “reduce access to the supply of opioids by expanding access to prevention, treatment, and recovery services.”[1] Congress has already appropriated $8.5 billion to implement this “landmark legislation” in 2018 and 2019.

In a series of Client Alerts, Epstein ...

On Monday, August 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a new addition to its regional Medicare Fraud Strike Forces: a Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Strike Force that will target both healthcare fraud and opioid overprescription.[1] The newly-formed Newark/Philadelphia Strike Force joins nine existing regional Medicare Strike Forces, all of which are focused in geographical areas of high healthcare fraud risk: Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Southern Texas; Southern Louisiana; Brooklyn, New York; Tampa ...

The Ryan Haight Act Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 (21 U.S.C. § 802(54)) (the “Ryan Haight Act” or “Act”) expanded the federal Controlled Substances Act to define appropriate internet usage in the dispensing and prescribing of schedule drugs, and in doing so effectively banned the issuance of prescriptions via telemedicine services for any controlled substances unless the ordering physician has conducted at least one in-person evaluation of the patient. The Act includes multiple exceptions that permit prescribing of controlled substances ...