State Attorney General (AG) Proactive Relationship Building & Monitoring; Maintaining Compliance at the State Level; Enforcement by State AGs and State Medicaid Fraud Control Units Against Lab, DME, Pharmacy, and for Lead Generation Activity
(Room C205)
20 Oct 21
8:00 AM
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9:00 AM
Tracks:
Legislative, Regulatory and Legal
State attorneys general pose a unique threat to your business. Virtually all state AGs are elected and have substantial regulatory and legal enforcement authority in a variety of areas affecting the lab, DME, pharmacy, and lead generation world, including areas such as consumer protection and healthcare related issues. As such, businesses must be prepared for the potential focus of a quasi-politician who also wields the significant enforcement power of a subpoena. You may have seen this recently in the news with a multistate coalition of AGs cracking down on one manufacturer in particular to resolve allegations of deceptive marketing with a nearly two hundred million dollar settlement. Additionally, numerous AGs took action against pharmacies that were allegedly price gouging personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, through enforcement of a state's version of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, or for allegations of improperly protecting a client's data and personal information. State Medicaid Fraud Control Units are looking into similar issues, enforcement of which can have lasting implication for your business. The role of the state AGs in enforcement of consumer protection, healthcare, and privacy related litigation against these industries and practices cannot be overstated. It is to your business' best interest to both proactively defend your business in the state AG arena and to make sure that you are off of your state AG's radar. Similarly, if you are able to discern that you are the focus of an AG's investigation, or even worse, a coalition of AGs, then you need to be prepared with an actionable response. Building relationships with key AGs and touting your business's best practices can save you time, aggravation, and money, should an AG choose to focus on your business. Additionally, if you do discover an investigation, you do not want to forget that your AG problems could be amplified into a problem with the U.S. Department of Justice. This panel can offer ideas for compliance programs, outreach opportunities, and coalition building events that will prevent you from getting on the radar of an AG or a State Medicaid Fraud and Control Unit in the first place, including compliance specific to the state level that will protect you from various violations.