State and federal officials are aggressively investigating more than 150 cases of pricing fraud involving the drug industry, The Wall Street Journal reports. A senior Justice Department official tells the paper that fines assessed could eventually total more than $1 billion. Most of the cases involve situations in which companies are accused of inflating prices in deals with government programs like Medicare and Medicaid. The new enforcement drive comes just months before federal spending on prescription drugs is expected to leap as Medicare Part D goes into effect.
- see this story from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)