MIA blogger (and lawyer) Jim Gottstein presented a 20-minute Oral Argument in ex rel Watson v. King-Vassel in front of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago last Thursday. “The technical issue on appeal is a lawyer nerd question about whether expert testimony is required,” said Gottstein, “but I like to think it contains a succinct and clear explanation of why even though a doctor can prescribe a drug for anything, if they prescribe one off-label to a child they are causing a False Claim (committing Medicaid Fraud) unless the use has support in at least one of the specified drug references called Compendia.”
The case is based on PsychRights’ Medicaid Fraud Initiative Against Psychiatric Drugging of Children & Youth. The briefs and a few of the trial court proceedings can be found at United States and the State of Wisconsin ex rel. Dr. Toby Watson v. Jennifer King-Vassel.
