Two dozen companies could be fined $20 million by state for noncompliance with diabetes drug

Two dozen companies could be fined $20 million by state for noncompliance with diabetes drug transparency law


The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services is threatening to levy roughly $20 million in fines on more than two dozen drug manufacturers that have yet to submit cost and profit reports to the state as required by a 2017 law aimed at better understanding the rising costs of treating diabetes.

In letters sent to the companies this week, the department reiterated that all manufacturers of what it determines to be drugs essential to the treatment of diabetes are required to submit annual reports to the state under Nevada law, and that companies can be assessed a fine of up to $5,000 a day for noncompliance. With 143 days since the manufacturer reports were due on April 1, each company that has yet to submit a report is facing a fine of up to $715,000.

Under the 2017 diabetes drug transparency law, the annual reports are required to include production costs, administrative expenditures, profits, financial assistance, coupons, and other information in an effort to better understand why the disease is so costly to treat. Roughly 13 percent of adults suffer from diabetes in Nevada, with direct and indirect diabetes-related medical expenses totaling $2.7 billion a year in the state.

Manufacturers are also required to provide to the state additional information for drugs determined to have experienced a significant price increase, including a list of each factor that contributed to the increase and the percentage of the total increase attributable to each factor.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/two-dozen-companies-could-be-fined-20-million-by-state-for-noncompliance-with-diabetes-drug-transparency-law