Posts Tagged ‘kickbacks’
DOJ recovers $5.6B in FCA Settlements/Judgments
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced it had taken in more than $5.6 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements and judgments in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2021. That’s the second largest annual total in the history of the FCA and the largest in seven years. In FY 2020, DOJ’s recoveries…
Read MoreSeven Not So Lucky Number for Two Healthcare Providers
A Florida doctor and the owner of several diagnostic labs have recently found themselves each facing jail sentences of seven years for committing healthcare fraud in separate cases. On Nov. 9, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Leonel Palatnik of Aventura and co-owner of Panda Conservation Group, was sentenced to nearly 7 years in…
Read MoreOIG Revises Self-Disclosure Protocol
For the first time since 2013, The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General has issued updates to its Healthcare Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol. Created in 1998, the protocol can be used to create a process to voluntarily identify, disclose and resolve instances of potential fraud involving federal healthcare programs. The OIG…
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 MoreGenetic Testing Laboratory Settles Federal Civil False Claims Act Lawsuit Alleging Kickbacks for $2.5 Million
On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin announced a $2.5 million dollar settlement with AutoGenomics, Inc., based on kickback allegations. In short, the lawsuit alleged that the lab, AutoGenomics, paid a marketing company kickbacks for each Medicare claim that the marketing company generated for the lab and was…
Read MorePharma Giant Novartis Settles FCA Claims
Pharma giant Novartis has agreed to pay more than $642 million to resolve claims it violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The company also will forfeit $38.4 million under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Statute. In the first settlement, the company agreed to pay $51.25 million to settle allegations it illegally paid the copay obligations for…
Read MoreFlorida Men Charged in $54M Pharmacy Fraud Case
Four Florida pharmacy owners were recently indicted for their alleged participation in a $54 million compound pharmacy kickback scheme. The indictment, announced on June 5, alleges that the men owned and operated Florida Pharmacy Solutions Inc. in Zephyrhills, Fla., “for the purpose of targeting TRICARE beneficiaries and causing the submission to TRICARE of claims for…
Read MoreDOJ Recovers $2.6B in Healthcare Fraud Settlements, Judgments in 2019
The federal government said it was making healthcare fraud a priority, and from the numbers just released by the U.S. Department of Justice, it appears to be bearing fruit. The DOJ announced last week that it recovered more than $3 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims in the…
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