Category: Pharmaceuticals

Kaiser Scores First-to-File Dismissal in Medicare Advantage Fraud Suit

Medicare Advantage Organizations have come under increased fire as their parent companies continue to acquire more healthcare practices across the country.  Experts suggest that this vertical integration has led to inflated Medicare spending, with providers facing new pressure to diagnosis chronic conditions that fetch more money for Medicare Advantage plans.

2020 False Claims Act Recoveries: $2.2 Billion in Recoveries and Over $309M in Awards to Whistleblowers

Takeaways:

  • Over $300 million awarded to whistleblowers.
  • Dip in recoveries reflects pandemic and economic challenges.
  • Number of FCA filings hits a record.
  • Healthcare continues to dominate FCA recoveries with kickbacks a major focus.
  • Rebound in recoveries is likely as defendants regain financial footing.

International Whistleblowing Legislation and America’s False Claims Act

This is the second part of a two-part article.

In the first of this two-part series, we discussed the success of the United States’ federal False Claims Act (FCA),[1] the rise of international whistleblowers through a study of the Michael Epp case,

When Is a Kickback Not a Kickback? Third Circuit Says It Must Be Linked to Specific False Claim

What Happened?

In affirming the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Accredo Health Group, Inc., and its co-defendants, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a plaintiff alleging a False Claims Act (“FCA”) violation based on an anti-kickback theory must show that (1) a particular patient was exposed to a kickback-tainted referral,

Sanofi Aventis Can’t Invoke the First Amendment to Escape FCA Liability

United States ex rel. Gohil v. Aventis, Inc. is a long-running False Claims Act suit filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by an ex-sales specialist against his former employer, behemoth pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Aventis.  Relator Yoash Gohil filed this qui tam suit in 2002 alleging that his former employer engaged in a fraudulent marketing scheme to promote off-label the chemo-therapy drug,

PharMerica Agrees to Pay $31.5M Over False Claims Act Violations

On May 14, 2015, PharMerica Corp. agreed to pay $31.5 million to resolve a False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act lawsuit alleging that the company had dispensed Schedule II controlled drugs without valid prescriptions and then billed Medicare for the improperly dispensed drugs.

PharMerica, a long-term care pharmacy that dispenses medications to residents of long-term care facilities,

PharMerica to Pay $31.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act and Controlled Substances Act Lawsuit

The United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced that PharMerica Corp. will pay $31.5 million, including more than $4 million to a whistleblower, to settle alleged violations of the Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”) and False Claims Act (“FCA”) related to the company’s improper dispensing of narcotics and submission of false claims to Medicare Part D.

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