Category: Healthcare
A judgment was entered against Medquest Associates for over $11 million in a false claims act lawsuit pending in Tennessee. The judgment included $713,000 in treble damages and nearly $9 million in civil penalties. The case against Medquest was based upon its practice at certain locations of submitting test results by physicians who were neither Medicare-approved nor qualified to certify the testing.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana announced on October 19, 2011, that Premier Home Care, a durable medical equipment provider in Southern Indiana, had agreed to pay $600,000 to the United States and to the State of Indiana for violations of the False Claims Act. This qui tam suit was filed in 2008 by a former Premier employee who alleged that the company violated the False Claims Act by falsely certifying its compliance with state licensing requirements when it used unlicensed personnel to set up respiratory ventilation machines for patients.
On October 21, 2011, Bloomberg News reported that Abbott Laboratories, an American pharmaceutical manufacturer, would at least $1.3 billion to settle claims that the company illegally marketed its epilepsy drug, Depakote. This announcement followed one similar from Abbott on October 19, where it disclosed that it recorded a $1.5 billion charge for the third quarter to cover a potential settlement based on government investigations of allegations that it promoted its Depakote anti-seizure drug for unauthorized uses.
On October 21, 2011, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that the pharmaceutical manufacturer, Pfizer Inc., agreed to pay $14.5 million to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act related to Detrol, a drug marketed for a condition called overactive bladder. This agreement resulted from a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that Pfizer marketed Detrol to men with enlarged prostates and related conditions,
On October 6, 2011, federal authorities announced the settlement of a health care fraud lawsuit against the trustees of Columbia University, New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Dr. Erik Goluboff for $995,000. The settlement resolves allegations that the defendants caused Medicare to be over-billed for urological procedures and billed for urological tests that were medically unnecessary.
On October 3, 2011, counsel for whistleblower and qui tam Plaintiff Beatrice Maitland announced the settlement of False Claims Act allegations against a subsidiary of Select Medical Corporation for suspect “Medical Director” payments made to various physicians. Specifically, Select Specialty Hospital–Columbus, Inc. agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle claims that it submitted claims to Medicare for reimbursement based on illegal referral fee agreements between certain Select Medical Corporation hospitals and physicians who were “Medical Directors” at the hospitals that amounted to kickbacks,
Abri Health Plan Inc., of Germantown Wisconsin and its parent company, Universal American Financial Corp., agreed to pay $4.8 million to the U.S. to resolve a suit brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act relating to its Medicare Part C coverage plan.
According to the whistleblowers,
On September 27, 2011, Stephen H. Stern, a Kentucky physician, and his practice, Kentuckiana Center for Better Bone and Joint Health, agreed to pay $349,860 to the U.S. to settle claims that Stern double billed Medicare for a drug used to treat arthritis. The settlement arose from a qui tam complaint filed by Suzette L.
Rickey Kanter, the owner and CEO of Dr. Comfort, a company that sells specialized shoes and inserts for diabetics, plead guilty to mail fraud and will pay a civil fine for improperly submitting claims for Medicare reimbursement. Although Medicare will reimburse certain diabetics for therapeutic footwear that conforms to specific standards,
The Justice Department announced today that Janzen, Johnston & Rockwell Emergency Medicine Management Services Inc. (JJ&R), who handles billing services for physicians, hospitals and other health care providers, was accused of submitting false claims to Medicare and Louisiana’s Medicaid program and has agreed to settle and pay the United States $4.6 million.
