On a Sidenote

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On the River Shore (?)

The bridge is composed of two separate spans, one of five arches joining the left bank to the Île de la Cité, another of seven joining the island to the right bank. Old engraved maps of Paris show how, when the bridge was built, it just grazed the downstream tip of the Île de la Cité; since then, the natural sandbar building of a mid-river island, aided by stone-faced embankments called quais, has extended the island. Today the tip of the island is the location of the Square du Vert-Galant, a small public park named in honour of Henry IV, nicknamed the “Green Gallant”.

The name Pont Neuf was given to distinguish it from older bridges that were lined on both sides with houses. It has remained after all of those were replaced. It has been listed since 1889 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.

Eight months pregnant, the drug sales representative wore a wire for the FBI around her bulging belly as she recorded conversations with colleagues at a conference in Chicago. Her code name? Pampers.

Her company, drugmaker Warner Chilcott, was using payments and perks to get doctors to prescribe its drugs. Then its sales representatives gave nurses hot tips about what kind of symptoms would get Medicaid to pay for the drugs. The representatives also violated privacy laws by going through patient files and kept fax machines in their cars to fill out the paperwork meant for doctors.

“I remember thinking I can’t do this anymore,” said Lisa, who didn’t want her last name to be used so that news of her whistleblower legal settlement doesn’t cause problems for her family. “This company needs to be held accountable. And if nobody else is going to do it, then I am.”

Warner Chilcott, which is now owned by Allergan, was trying to beat one of the few mechanisms set up by state Medicaid agencies to hold down drug costs for taxpayers and ensure safety for patients.

Medicaid, which uses state and federal tax dollars to pay for health care for 76 million poor or disabled Americans, tries to ensure that patients get drugs that work the best and yet are also affordable. States put those drugs on what they call “preferred drug lists.”

While Medicaid must pay for nearly all drugs by law, states can make it harder to get more expensive or less effective drugs by requiring doctors to fill out cumbersome administrative paperwork to prescribe those not on the preferred lists.

Warner Chilcott’s practices were particularly brazen and even illegal because the employees submitted false information to states. It pleaded guilty to felony health care fraud and agreed in 2015 to pay $125 million in civil and criminal fines. Allergan declined to comment.

But around the country, drug companies are working to influence state Medicaid drug cost controls to keep their profits flowing. Meanwhile the cost of Medicaid is ballooning, not only because the program expanded in 33 states and the District of Columbia under the Affordable Care Act.

Medicaid Under The Influence: How Drugmakers Sway Medication Options For Patients