Posts Tagged ‘anti-kickback statute’
Abbott Laboratories’ Alere to Pay $160M to Settle FCA Claims
What once was one of the country’s largest Medicare mail-order diabetic testing suppliers and its parent company have agreed to pay $160 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act. The case was brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Gregory Goodman against Arriva Medical LLC,…
Read MoreFeds Recover $3.1B in FY 2020 Resulting From Healthcare Fraud Investigations
The federal government recouped nearly $3.1 billion last year following investigations into healthcare fraud, according to a new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice. The annual report noted that DOJ opened 1,148 new criminal healthcare fraud investigations in 2020, filing criminal charges in 412 cases…
Read MoreDME Owners Face Stiff Prison Sentence in Kickback Case
The owners and operators of two Dallas, Texas-based durable medical equipment companies recently were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive healthcare kickbacks and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. They now face up to 25 years behind bars. Leah and Michael Hagen, owners…
Read MoreCan Healthcare Providers Offer Covid Vaccination Incentives?
It’s estimated that a little more than 42 percent of Americans have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and nearly 52 percent have had at least one dose. That has prompted President Joseph Biden to announce a “National Month of Action,†in an effort to get at least 70 percent of U.S. adults at least partially…
Read MorePharma Company Pays $12.6M to Settle Charity Kickback Allegations
Another pharmaceutical company has agreed to a multimillion-dollar settlement to resolve allegations that it used a charity as a conduit to pay the copays of patients taking one of its drugs. Federal prosecutors alleged that Incyte Corporation of Delaware was the sole donor to an independent foundation set up in November 2011 to assist patients…
Read MoreOIG Opinion: Drug Maker Can Provide Free Medication
On March 23, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General issued a favorable ruling to a drug manufacturer looking to provide a free medication to patients in need of a one-time treatment made from their own cells. The drug maker (Requestor) makes the FDA-approved drug for two indications that is…
Read MorePaying a Marketing Company for Referrals? Beware!
If you pay independent contractors to market your healthcare services, read on. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently upheld a verdict against the former owner of a blood testing lab and two marketers who were found to have violated the False Claims Act by paying physicians for drawing patients’ blood…
Read MoreEHR Companies Increasingly the Focus of DOJ Fraud Investigators
A Massachusetts-based electronic health records (EHR) company will pay more than $18 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to generate sales through its marketing programs. It is the latest in a number of EHR companies under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The complaint alleges that athenahealth Inc. (Athena), violated the…
Read MoreHHS, CMS Announce Changes to Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently published long-awaited final rules that significantly reform regulations interpreting the federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute. The agencies have stated that the changes “aim to reduce regulatory barriers to care coordination and accelerate the transformation…
Read MoreOIG Offers Advisory Opinions on COVID-19-Related Arrangements, But …
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a unique set of circumstances for many healthcare providers. Delivering quality patient care, while at the same time trying to navigate existing laws and regulations, has many providers questioning whether the arrangements they are making in response to this public health emergency will not get them into trouble with…
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