attorney for health care fraud

September 15, 2017

Novo Nordisk to Pay $58 Million Settlement

andres-de-armas-103880-copy-300x200 In early September, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk Inc. has agreed to pay $58.65 million for failing to comply with a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program. The REMS was for Novo Nordisk’s Type II diabetes medication Victoza, which created a risk of a rare form of cancer in humans known as Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. Novo Nordisk was required to take steps to mitigate this potential risk, including providing information about MTC to physicians. By failing to mitigate the risk as prescribed in the REMS, the FDA determines the drug is misbranded under the law.

Novo Nordisk’s Alleged Misconduct

The DOJ claimed in a complaint that Novo Nordisk violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) between 2010 and 2014 and violated the False Claims Act (FCA) between 2010 and 2014. According to the complaint, Novo Nordisk sales representatives gave physicians the false or misleading impressions regarding the Victoza REMS was not important. The representatives framed the information in such a way as to make the warning appear irrelevant.

August 20, 2017

Mylan Agrees to Settle FCA Lawsuit Regarding EpiPen

by Gregory J. Brod

lukasz-szmigiel-413-copy-300x169 Pharmaceutical companies Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P. agree to pay $465 million to settle a lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act (FCA). According to the FCA-based suit brought by a whistleblower, Mylan intentionally misclassified EpiPen as a generic drug – knowing it was a brand name drug – in order to not have to pay higher rebates to Medicaid. EpiPen is a brand name drug because there is no therapeutically equivalent drug provided by other manufacturers. Mylan is the single source of EpiPen. By willfully and incorrectly deeming it a generic drug, Mylan was not required by law to pay a higher rebate to Medicaid, thereby retaining a greater amount of money and increasing their profits.

More on Mylan’s Actions

The purpose of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program is to ensure state Medicaid programs were not injured to price gouging by manufacturers that were the only source of a drug, like EpiPen. When a drug manufacturer is a single course for a medication, there is no market competition to balance the price of the drug. Instead, that manufacturer can continually raise the price and there will always be a demand for the drug out of necessity.

July 14, 2017

Wal-Mart Pays $1.65 Million Due to False Claims

by Gregory J. Brod

The Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Eastern District of California announced on July 7 that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart) paid $1.65 million to resolve accusations related to unlawful medical claims. This is an important suit as it demonstrates that the federal and state governments will go after large retailers for false claims. Pursuing whistleblower suits and securing government funds that were unlawfully obtained remains a top property for the DOJ.

Walmart’s False Claims

Through a qui tam suit brought by a former Walmart pharmacist in the Sacramento area, the California government learned that Walmart was allegedly submitting false claims to the state’s Medi-Cal program in order to increase reimbursements. Supposedly, Walmart would knowingly submit claims that were not supported by a proper and relevant diagnosis or documentation. More specifically, Walmart would submit reimbursement claims for Code 1 drugs that were not based on proper and pre-approved diagnoses. Medi-Cal only reimburses for Code 1 drugs if they were prescribed for approved diagnoses. If a Walmart pharmacy wanted reimbursement for a Code 1 drug for something else, it would need to submit a specific request with the reasoning for a non-approved use. Walmart pharmacists intentionally submitted claims without confirming the approved diagnosis and obtaining the necessary documentation or for non-approved uses.

June 30, 2017

Los Angeles Hospital Pays $42 Million to Settle Qui Tam Suit

by Gregory J. Brod

The U.S. Department of Justice announced on June 28 that PAMC Ltd. and Pacific Alliance Medical Center Inc. have agreed to pay $42 million to settle allegations that they violated provisions of the False Claims Act. The two companies, which operate together as Pacific Alliance Medical Center in Los Angeles, allegedly had unlawful financial relationships with doctors.

Qui Tam Suit Against Pacific Alliance Medical Center

The qui tam lawsuit against the defendants was filed by Paul Chan, who was a manager with one of the defendant businesses. A qui tam suit is a civil lawsuit brought by a private citizen on behalf of the government. The private citizen, known as the relator during the suit, provides information regarding the claims that is not available to the public. If the government receives a settlement or jury award in relation to the relator’s allegations, then he receives part of the monetary recovery. In this case, Chan is set to receive more than $9.2 million.

May 12, 2017

Oncology Therapy Center Pays $3 Million in Healthcare Fraud Settlement

by Gregory J. Brod

A radiation therapy center based in Lancaster agreed to pay $3 million to the federal government to resolve a claim that it committed healthcare fraud for close to 10 years. A qui tam suit based on the federal False Claims Act, filed by former employee Jared Shindler, alleged that Valley Tumor Medical Group submitted fraudulent bills to the federal Medicare, Medi-Cal, and TRICARE programs between Jan. 3, 2006 through Nov. 13, 2015. According to the whistleblower suit, radiation oncology treatments were provided to patients at Valley Tumor’s Ridgecrest location when no physicians were on site, which is required by federal law.

The Case Was Made Public April 20

While the lawsuit was filed in 2015, it was only recently unsealed. That is because qui tam cases are filed under seal so that the government has time to investigate the claim and determine whether to join the suit as a party or decline to join. During this time, the lawsuit must remain a secret from the public, including the defendant. If the relator or government leaks information about the existence of the suit, there can repercussions such as fines or the dismissal of the suit.

May 5, 2017

University of California Discovers Health Care Fraud Targeting Students

by Gregory J. Brod

The University of California recently announced that it uncovered evidence of a fraudulent health care scheme targeting students. Local health care providers would recruit and encourage students to enroll in fake clinical trials or apply for fake jobs. This allowed them to gain the student’s personal and health plan information. These providers would then write fake prescriptions in the student’s names to ultimately obtain close to $12 million from UC. The university found at least nine individual health care providers were involved.

UC Filed Complaint in Los Angeles County

UC filed a complaint against the allegedly fraudulent health care providers on April 20 in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Listed as defendants are California Clinical Trials, LLC, Studios Pharmacy, Excel Care Pharmacy, Pharma Pro Solutions, and 17 individuals, including physicians, surgeons, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other medical professionals.

May 16, 2016

Using the False Claims Act to Protect Funds for Cancer Patients

by Gregory J. Brod

Cancer. Rarely can one word strike so much fear. We have come so far in both cancer prevention and cancer treatment; yet we also have so much farther to go before we can truly say we’ve triumphed over this massive beast. One major challenge is the cost of treating cancer. While much of that cost is due to the challenges of medical research, some companies are deliberately over-charging cancer patients and their insurance providers by billing for expensive and unnecessary services. The battle against cancer treatment fraud is yet another example of a front in which the False Claims Act can be a tool for justice and even a tool for health. As a health care fraud law firm, we partner with whistleblowers to fight these wrongs and ensure health care funds are available for true medical needs.

Company Pays Nearly $34.7 Million to Settle Allegations of Overbilling for Cancer Treatment

Earlier this Spring, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that 21^st Century Oncology agreed to pay nearly $34.7 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging they performed and billed federal health care agencies (e.g., Medicare, Tricare, Medicaid) for procedures that were not medically necessary. The underlying suit involved a procedure called the Gamma function which measures the exit dose radiating from an individual after radiation treatments. The government alleged that the company performed and billed for this procedure when it was not needed for any medically appropriate purpose. Additionally, the suit alleged that 21^st Century billed for Gamma function treatments in cases where no physician reviewed the results in a timely manner and in cases where technical equipment failures meant no results could be obtained. The suit was originally brought by a former physicist with a Florida oncology company who filed the claims under the whistleblower or qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act and who will receive over $7 million for his role in the case.