The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that in 2017 it recovered more than $3.7 billion stemming from the enforcement of the False Claims Act. The healthcare industry accounted for most of it ($2.4 billion).

The largest portion of recoveries from the healthcare industry came from drug and medical device companies (more than $900 million). The DOJ reported four largest recoveries:

  •  Shire Pharmaceuticals LLC paid $350 million to resolve allegations that Shire and the company it acquired in 2011, Advanced BioHealing (ABH), induced clinics and physicians to use or overuse its bioengineered human skin substitute by offering lavish dinners, drinks, entertainment and travel; medical equipment and supplies; unwarranted payments for purported speaking engagements and bogus case studies; and cash, credits and rebates.  In addition to these kickback allegations, the settlement also resolved allegations brought by relators that Shire and ABH unlawfully marketed the skin substitute for uses not approved by the FDA, made false statements to inflate the price of the product, and caused improper coding, verification, or certification of claims for the product and related services.  The settlement included $343.9 million in federal recoveries, and another $6.1 million in recoveries to state Medicaid programs.

  • Drug manufacturer Mylan Inc. paid approximately $465 million to resolve allegations that it underpaid rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program by erroneously classifying its patented, brand name drug EpiPen – which has no therapeutic equivalents or generic competition – as a generic drug to avoid its obligation to pay higher rebates.  Between 2010 and 2016, Mylan increased the price of EpiPen by approximately 400 percent yet paid only a fixed 13 percent rebate to Medicaid during the same period based on EpiPen’s misclassification as a generic drug.  Mylan paid approximately $231.7 million to the federal government and $213.9 million to state Medicaid programs.

  •  Life Care Centers of America Inc. and its owner agreed to pay $145 million to settle allegations that it caused skilled nursing facilities to submit false claims for rehabilitation therapy services that were not reasonable, necessary, or skilled.  This was the largest civil settlement with a skilled nursing facility chain in the history of the False Claims Act.  The government alleged that Life Care instituted corporate-wide policies and practices designed to place beneficiaries in the highest level of Medicare reimbursement – known as “Ultra High” – irrespective of the clinical needs of the patients, resulting in the provision of unreasonable and unnecessary therapy to many beneficiaries.  Life Care also allegedly sought to keep patients longer than necessary in order to continue billing for rehabilitation therapy.

  •  eClinicalWorks (ECW) – a national electronic health records software vendor – and certain of its employees paid $155 million to resolve allegations that they falsely obtained certification for the company’s electronic health records software by concealing from its certifying entity that its software did not comply with the requirements for certification.  For example, rather than programming all the required standardized drug codes into its software, the company allegedly “hardcoded” into its software only the drug codes required for testing.  As a result of the deficiencies in its software, ECW allegedly caused physicians who used its software to submit false claims for federal incentive payments.  The United States also alleged that ECW paid unlawful kickbacks to certain customers in exchange for promoting its product.

In addition, the DOJ announced that it continues to focus on individual accountability for corporate wrongdoing and held a number of individual owners and executives liable for settlement payments with their corporations. For example, three of the founders of eClinicalWorks, agreed to joint and several liability for the $155 million settlement discussed above.  In addition, three other eClinicalWorks employees entered into separate settlement agreements to resolve liability for their alleged personal involvement in the conduct.  The owner of Life Care Centers of America, agreed to joint and several liability for the $145 million settlement discussed above, and the owners of Medstar Ambulance Inc., agreed to be jointly and severally liable for a $12.7 million settlement with their company.

In 2017, the DOJ also obtained more than $60 million in settlements and judgments from individuals (did not involve corporate entities). For example, after 21st Century Oncology LLC paid $19.75 million to resolve allegations that it billed federal health care programs for medically unnecessary laboratory tests, the department secured separate settlements with various individual urologists, including a $3.8 million settlement with Dr. Meir Daller, resolving allegations that the physicians referred unnecessary tests to a laboratory owned and operated by 21st Century Oncology.  Other examples include Dr. Robert Windsor, a pain management physician who agreed to the entry of a $20 million consent judgment to resolve allegations that he billed federal health care programs for surgical monitoring services that he did not perform and for medically unnecessary diagnostic tests; Dr. Gary L. Marder, a physician and the owner and operator of the Allergy, Dermatology & Skin Cancer Centers in Port St. Lucie and Okeechobee, Florida, who agreed to the entry of an $18 million consent judgment in connection with the performance of radiation therapy services; Joseph Bogdan, the owner of AMI Monitoring Inc. (also known as Spectocor), who agreed to pay $1 million to resolve liability for his alleged involvement in billing Medicare for higher and more expensive levels of cardiac monitoring services than requested by the ordering physicians; and Siddhartha Pagidipati, the former CEO of Freedom Health, who agreed to pay $750,000 to resolve liability for his alleged involvement in an illegal scheme to maximize payment from the Medicare Advantage program.

The DOJ announced that it will continue focusing on the healthcare industry and enforcing federal law to protect vulnerable population and prevent unnecessary federal expenditures.

Healthcare providers must continue monitoring their billing practices and adequately train their employees, agents, and partners on proper recordkeeping, accountability, and compliance.