Thursday, June 29, 2006

Tenet Healthcare reaches $725 Million Settlement with U.S.

Tenet Healthcare Corp., the No. 2 U.S. hospital chain, agreed to pay $725 million and waive another $175 million in government payments to resolve a federal probe of its Medicare pricing, according to a report in Bloomberg.com.

The settlement ends a government lawsuit over allegations that Dallas-based Tenet overcharged Medicare, the federal health-insurance plan for the elderly and disabled, according to a company statement. Tenet will pay the government, one of the largest ever in a federal civil investigation of a healthcare company, over a four-year period.

Click on the following link for the complete story on the healthcare fraud settlement.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

AT&T agrees to pay U.S. $2.9 Million to settle Charges of Contracting Fraud

AT&T Communications-East, Inc., a subsidiary of AT&T Corp., has agreed to pay the U.S. $2.9 million to settle claims that it defrauded the General Services Administration (GSA) from 1998 to 2001, the Justice Department announced today.

The civil settlement resolves allegations that the company defrauded the federal government by knowingly passing through to government customers costs and fees known as Presubscribed Interexchange Carrier Charges, in violation of the terms of AT&T’s contract with GSA certain. The charges are a fee that long distance companies pay to local telephone companies to recover part of the costs of providing facilities that link each telephone customer to the telephone network.

The allegations arose from a lawsuit filed by realtor John Russo. Under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, a federal law that allows private individuals to sue on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant. Click the following link to read a Justice Department press release on the qui tam settlement.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

NJ Private School to pay $469K for Allegedly Falsifying Claims

A private school in Hudson County, NJ, will have to pay $469,000 to the U.S. government for allegedly misappropriating money from the federal school lunch program. The allegations were brought against a non-profit corporation and private school called Mesivta Sanz in Union City for violations of the False Claims Act.

“Misappropriating money from the school lunch program defrauds our government and hurts the children who most need this program,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie. “We will continue to work to protect programs which help our most vulnerable citizens.”

Mesvita Sanz, which provides elementary and secondary education, has a total of 314 students. It allegedly submitted false certifications for payment under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), which provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. Click the following link to read a full account of the false claims settlement.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Clinic, Surgical Products Company agree to settle False Claims Charge

An Iowa health clinic and a Michigan artificial joint manufacturer have agreed to pay $345,000 to the Medicare Trust Fund to settle a federal kickback case.

The case is based on the fact that Stryker Corporation, a Michigan company, and its affiliates made payments from 2000-03 to The Center for Neuroscienses, Orthopedics & Spine, or CNOS, in order to induce CNOS and Siouxland Surgery Center of Dakota Dunes, Iowa, to buy orthopedic surgical products from Stryker, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sioux Falls.

The federal Anti-Kickback Act prohibits the payments from one entity to another for the purpose of inducing the purchase of goods or services. Click the following link to read the full account of this kickback settlement in the Sioux City Journal.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Practice of Off-Label Marketing could expose Pharmas to False Claim Lawsuits

A report in Genetic Engineering News yesterday warned pharmaceutical companies that the enter a legal minefield when then they engage in off-label marketing of their products. The article recounts that in 2004, Pfizer had to pay penalties totalling $430 million for a subsidiary’s illicit promotional activities associated with off-label marketing, and warns that the prospect of enormous rewards could prompt employees of drug manufacturers to initiate whistleblower lawsuits against companies that violate the U.S. False Claims Act. Click the following link to read about the False Claims Act exposure in off-label marketing.

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