A Waterloo, Iowa, hospital paid $4.5 million to settle a claim that they improperly used Medicare to pay five physicians. They are among the highest paid doctors in the country. The Covenant Medical Center allegedly paid the doctors above market value which disqualifies them from receiving Medicare dollars. “It’s the combination of the referrals without…
Largest Health Care Fraud Settlement in Justice Department History
The largest health care fraud settlement ever was announced by the U.S. Justice Department today. The settlement, totaling $2.3 billion, is with pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its subsidiary, Pharmacia & Upjohn. According to the agreement, Pharmacia & Upjohn will plead guilty to charges of fraudulently marketing Bextra, an anti-inflammatory drug, which constitutes a felony violation…
The National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units Announces a $12.4 Million Dollar Settlement
A $12.4 million national Medicaid civil settlement with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (Quest) and its former subsidiary Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID), resolves claims regarding the accuracy of various NID diagnostic tests manufactured, marketed and sold to laboratories during 2000-2006. These were then used to perform testing which the Medicaid Programs paid for. The federal and state…
Dynamics Research Corporation to Pay the U.S. $15 Million in False Claims Lawsuit
Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC) has agreed to pay the United States $15 million plus interest in a settlement involving two former executives who engaged in a fraudulent kickback scheme aimed at service contracts with the Air Force. The United States filed a civil suit in federal court in Boston alleging the former executives steered contracts…
Boeing Company to Pay U.S. $25 Million in Qui Tam Lawsuit
The Boeing Company will pay the United States $25 million for allegedly performing defective work on the KC-10 Extender fleet, an integral part of the Air Force’s aerial refueling fleet in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The lawsuit, originally a qui tam or whistleblower suit, alleged that Boeing defectively installed insulation blanket kits in KC-10…
Landmark $62.5 Million Settlement Highlights Role of False Claims Act in Public Interest Litigation
A False Claims Act case brought by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), a registered nonprofit organization, on behalf of the United States government has resulted in an historic settlement whereby the defendant, Westchester County, New York, has agreed to spend more than $50 million to create affordable housing opportunities in designated towns and villages and to…
Tulare Healthcare System Pays $2.4 Million in Medicare Scam
Tulare Healthcare is expected to pay the government more than $2.4 million to settle allegations of submitting false claims to the Medicare system and illegally paying doctors for referrals. Former Tulare Healthcare chief financial advisor, Maria Lucy Reimche, filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming the company violated anti-kickback laws and made false claims to Medicare for…
New York State and City to Pay $540 Million for False Medicaid Claims
New York State and City will pay the federal government $540 million to settle allegations they submitted false claims under the federal Medicaid program. The false claims concerned reimbursements for school-based programs like speech therapy and transportation between 1990 and 2001. The settlement stemmed from two lawsuits filed by whistleblowers. The settlement is a record…
Boston Scientific and Medtronic Involved in Lawsuit for Cheating Medicare
Two medical device giants have been accused of promoting off-label use of their products and cheating the Medicare system in a federal lawsuit stemming from a qui tam accusation. AtriCure Inc., St. Jude Medical Inc. and subsidiary Epicor Medical Inc. and Endoscopic Technologies are accused of offering illegal kickbacks to hospitals and doctors who use…
Medical Center to Settle Fraud Allegations with $2.75 Million
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Inc. has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle allegations stemming from a qui tam lawsuit begun by two employees. The medical center allegedly claimed patients were treated for ailments that did not exist, such as malnutrition and respiratory failure, to increase the rates at which they were reimbursed by…