There have been a few notable settlements under the False Claims Act in the last month for those tracking fraud in the health care industry. Through the three lawsuits, the government has recovered more than $300 million.
Teva Pharmaceuticals and a subsidiary agreed to pay $27.6 million to resolve allegations it paid a Chicago doctor to switch to its generic clozapine, an anti-psychotic drug, rather than continue to prescribe Novartis’ Clozaril. The doctor became the largest prescriber in the country after signing a consulting agreement with Teva. The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits payments to induce or reward the referral of business under Medicare and Medicaid.
Halifax Hospital will pay $85 million to settle claims it violated the False Claims Act and the Stark law when it billed Medicare for patients referred by nine doctors. The Stark law prohibits inappropriate financial arrangements between doctors and hospitals, including compensation for referrals. The Justice Department contended Halifax paid three neurosurgeons more than their fair market value. Halifax also provided an improper incentive bonus to six oncologists based on the value of work performed.
The settlement does not conclude the case against Halifax. The whistleblower lawsuit also alleges that the hospital unnecessarily admitted patients instead of treating them as outpatients. These allegations are set for trial in July.
At the end of February, Endo Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay $192.7 million to resolve allegations it engaged in off-label marketing of the prescription drug Liboderm. Liboderm was approved by the FDA only for the treatment of pain associated with a complication of shingles. Endo sales representatives were encouraged to suggest off-label uses of the product for other forms of pain and marketed the drug to physicians who were unlikely to see patients suffering from its approved indication, post-herpetic neuralgia pain.
Young Law Group represents health care whistleblowers reporting fraud through the False Claims Act. If you would like a free, confidential consultation with an attorney at the Young Law Group regarding reporting fraud, please call 1-800-590-4116 or complete our contact form.