Accounting
How did Amgen's unethical behavior contribute to the problems with Medicaid kickbacks?
According to the Anna Richo, Amgen's Chief Compliance Officer, Amgen strives to conduct business in the "highest ethical manner". According to the site, Amgen each employee will be held accountable for any unethical practices. The code of conduct clearly states that all staff members are required to adhere to the laws, and act on good judgment. Kickbacks are illegal and deemed unethical in the United States. Kickbacks, sometimes referred to as bribery, are payments given or received with the intention of influencing another to gain from a situation and/or transaction. In the medical industry, doctors are often given samples from pharmaceutical companies to give to patients. This practice is common and is not illegal. However, when the doctor agrees to prescribe a particular medication or refer a particular specialist doctor and in exchange for a return, this is where the illegal process begins. In the Amgen 2009 case, the biotech company offered kickback to medical providers to boost sales. Pharmaceutical representatives influenced physicians to bill Medicaid for the anemia drug Aranesp, which were given free. The company made a profit of $15 million from the top-selling drug in exchange for giving doctors expense paid vacations (Zimmerman, 2009). Medicaid, a health program paid by taxpayers, not only had to pay for the medication billed, but for the bills for the problems the medication caused the patients.
Why does the public consider this scandal to have an unethical dilemma?
A dilemma is a situation that will have a bad consequence with either choice. The public considers this scandal to have an unethical dilemma because the taxpayers are forced to pay all the bills that physicians' office filed. The physicians misused the Medicaid program, which is funded through the taxes paid by the working class, for the benefit of themselves and the Amgen. In addition to paying the
According to the Anna Richo, Amgen's Chief Compliance Officer, Amgen strives to conduct business in the "highest ethical manner". According to the site, Amgen each employee will be held accountable for any unethical practices. The code of conduct clearly states that all staff members are required to adhere to the laws, and act on good judgment. Kickbacks are illegal and deemed unethical in the United States. Kickbacks, sometimes referred to as bribery, are payments given or received with the intention of influencing another to gain from a situation and/or transaction. In the medical industry, doctors are often given samples from pharmaceutical companies to give to patients. This practice is common and is not illegal. However, when the doctor agrees to prescribe a particular medication or refer a particular specialist doctor and in exchange for a return, this is where the illegal process begins. In the Amgen 2009 case, the biotech company offered kickback to medical providers to boost sales. Pharmaceutical representatives influenced physicians to bill Medicaid for the anemia drug Aranesp, which were given free. The company made a profit of $15 million from the top-selling drug in exchange for giving doctors expense paid vacations (Zimmerman, 2009). Medicaid, a health program paid by taxpayers, not only had to pay for the medication billed, but for the bills for the problems the medication caused the patients.
Why does the public consider this scandal to have an unethical dilemma?
A dilemma is a situation that will have a bad consequence with either choice. The public considers this scandal to have an unethical dilemma because the taxpayers are forced to pay all the bills that physicians' office filed. The physicians misused the Medicaid program, which is funded through the taxes paid by the working class, for the benefit of themselves and the Amgen. In addition to paying the