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# IG Faults Drug Companies’ Caring Voice Charity
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/ig-faults-drug-companies-caring-voice-charity/
- Published: 2017-11-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T23:03:56.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5140228

The HHS Inspector General (IG) has withdrawn its advisory opinion approval of Caring Voice Coalition, one of the biggest patient assistance charities in the U.S. The coalition, funded almost entirely by drug companies to help patients afford expensive drugs by paying co-insurance payments that can run more than $10,000 a year, says it may close as a result of the IG decision.

The IG [said](https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/advisoryopinions/2017/AdvOpnRescission06-04.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) that in addition to its charitable mission, the coalition provided drugmakers with data that could help them see if their contributions were helping their own customers, potentially giving the companies “greater ability to raise the prices of their drugs while insulating patients from the immediate out-of-pocket effects” and letting Medicare pay for the cost increases.

Bloomberg News [reports](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-11-29/pharma-charity-may-shut-after-u-s-faults-drugmakers-influence?ref=fdaweb.com) that under federal law, drug companies can’t give direct co-pay help to patients covered by Medicare, which would be considered an illegal kickback because it could steer patients to one drug or another. Instead, companies are permitted to donate to independent charities that help Medicare patients, provided the companies don’t exert control over how the nonprofits operate.

The news agency says the IG findings are similar to its 5/2016 reporting that Caring Voice gave preferential treatment to patients of some company donors.

The IG said it was rescinding its previous favorable advisory opinion “effective immediately” due to the coalition’s failure to disclose how it was actually operating.