News
06/30/1992

<TITLE>100 Arrests in 50 Cities</TITLE>
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P92-20                                 Food and Drug Administration 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                  Betsy Adams - (301) 443-4177

    The Bush Administration today announced more than 100 arrests in 50       
cities of pharmacists and others involved in illegal, nationwide,             
multi-million-dollar health care drug diversion operations.
    Today's arrests mark the most extensive crackdown on health care fraud    
in America and involve the Departments of Justice and Health and Human        
Services, in conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, state and local        
authorities and the pharmaceutical industry.  Pharmacists, doctors, Medicaid  
and Medicare patients and various middlemen were all involved in the scams    
that led to today's arrests.
    "The motivation for these illicit schemes was pure greed," said HHS       
Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.  "It is unconscionable for health care      
professionals to sacrifice their patients' welfare for economic gain.  The    
medical professionals who would engage in such activities represent only a    
tiny fraction of the honest, dedicated and caring men and women in the        
health professions in America."
    In the diversion scheme, Medicaid and Medicare patients obtained          
prescriptions for unneeded drugs from unscrupulous doctors, then had these    
unneeded prescriptions filled by pharmacists, and then sold the drugs for a 
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fraction of their value to diverters.  These middlemen in turn sold them at   
discount rates to unethical pharmacists, who then re-sold them to the public  
at full price.
    These drugs are legitimate products that were safe and effective when     
manufactured and originally packaged.  However, in the diversion process      
some of the drugs were stored at high temperatures, passed their expiration
date or were mishandled in various other ways.  To protect the public         
health, any drugs found during this investigation and suspected to be         
mislabeled, damaged, expired or subpotent were seized immediately by the      
Food and Drug Administration or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  
    Others cooperating in the investigation include the HHS Inspector         
General's Office, Drug Enforcement Administration, Postal Inspection          
Service, state Medicaid fraud control units, state and local police           
investigative units, state attorneys general, state boards of pharmacy,       
state medical licensing boards, Blue Cross and Blue Shield special            
investigative units and pharmaceutical industry officials.
    Pharmacies involved in diverting the drugs are in the process of being    
closed or having certain of their assets seized.  FDA will cooperate with     
state and local health authorities to ensure that they are kept informed      
about the situation and help see that patients continue to have access to     
the drugs they need.
    "We are advising patients to look at their medicine to make sure it is    
the one they are supposed to be taking, and once they have verified that      
it's the right drug, to keep taking it according to instructions," said FDA 
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Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D.  "If you are suspicious, consult a        
doctor or pharmacist you trust.  The overwhelming majority of health-care     
providers have the highest integrity."
    Kessler said that reasons for suspicion would include medicines that are  
marked as a "sample," unless dispensed as a sample by a doctor, or that look  
different from those previously purchased.
    Anyone having problems with a medicine or concerns about it should        
contact a doctor, clinic or pharmacy.  Patients who cannot reach a health     
provider or are unsure about what to do can call the FDA at 1-800-FDA-5568    
between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m., EDT, for further information.
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