ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
False Claims Act Cases Against Healthcare Industry
Of the $3.7 billion in 2017 false claim settlements and judgments, $2.4 billion involved false claims from the healthcare industry. Typically, these false claims cases involved false claims for reimbursement, kickbacks, and other fraudulent schemes against the government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs. The $2.4 billion total included false claims from drug companies, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories, clinics, and physician groups. The total reflects federal losses alone. In many cases, the Department of Justice (DOJ) was also able to recover millions of dollars more connected with state Medicaid programs.
The California and San Mateo County whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. represent whistleblowers in false claims submitted by a variety of healthcare providers including pharmaceutical companies. We also handle whistleblower cases before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding tax avoidance schemes and before the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in securities and investment fraud cases. If you have credible information for a false claims whistleblower case or any other whistleblower case in California, call us today at (415)441-8669 and we can help.
Here are some of the largest 2017 DOJ recoveries from the healthcare industry:
- Electronic health record (EHR) maker eClinicalWorks and certain of its employees paid $155 million to resolve allegations that they falsely obtained certification for the company’s EHR software by concealing from its certifying entity that its software did not comply with certification requirements.
- Shire Pharmaceuticals paid $350 million to resolve allegations that it and a subsidiary, Advanced BioHealing, 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.
- EpiPen manufacturer Mylan Inc. paid approximately $465 million to resolve allegations that it underpaid rebates owed to the government 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.
- Life Care Centers of America paid $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.
Evans Law Firm, Inc. was not involved in any of the foregoing cases, but our False Claims Act whistleblower attorneys follow the DOJ’s pursuit of false claims against the healthcare industry closely as our attorneys do handle large false claims cases against healthcare providers.
If you are aware of a false claim against the government, you might miss out on a reward if you merely call a government office to report fraud. Don’t make any calls to the government until you have consulted with counsel. To be eligible for a whistleblower reward under a state or federal False Claims Act you must report the fraud through appropriate and timely court filings or an application addressed to the appropriate office of the applicable government agency. This is where the whistleblower attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. can help. Out attorneys know the appropriate procedures for your type of allegation and know how to organize and present your credible, original information and documentation in the most effective way.
Whistleblower cases are lengthy and complicated, but the rewards can be very substantial. False Claims Act cases and other whistleblower cases such as for tax avoidance or securities fraud may result in awards as high as 15-30% of the amount the government recovers as a result of your information. The law may also protect you if your employer retaliates against you for your whistleblowing and attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. can represent you in any action for illegal retaliation by your employer against you.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has information regarding false claims in San Mateo County or elsewhere in California, offshore tax avoidance schemes against the IRS, or securities fraud in violation of SEC and CFTC regulations, contact Ingrid Evans and the other Evans Law Firm, Inc. whistleblower and false claims attorneys at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
