Medicare Fraud 101 » pharmaceutical fraud http://medicare-fraud.net Medicare Fraud News, Breaking Headlines and Insight from the Qui Tam Perspective Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:32:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 Spectranetics Corporation to Pay $5 Million to Resolve Allegations of Health Care Fraud http://medicare-fraud.net/spectranetics-corporation-to-pay-5-million-to-resolve-allegations-of-health-care-fraud/ http://medicare-fraud.net/spectranetics-corporation-to-pay-5-million-to-resolve-allegations-of-health-care-fraud/#comments Fri, 08 Jan 2010 04:20:58 +0000 Nolan and Auerbach http://medicare-fraud.net/?p=252 Spectranetics Corporation, a medical device manufacturer, has agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million in civil damages, as well $100,000 forfeiture to resolve claims against the company, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced December 29, 2009.

The claims arise from allegations that the company illegally imported unapproved medical devices and provided them to physicians for use in patients; committed fraud in a clinical study by failing to comply with federal regulations; and promoted certain products for procedures for which the company had not received Food and Drug Administration approval or clearance.

The company manufactures, distributes and sells certain medical lasers and peripheral devices for those lasers, such as lead wires that guide the lasers through vascular tissue and catheters that carry and contain the lasers inside the veins, including, specifically, the CVX-300 Medical Laser and the CliRpath Turbo Laser Catheter, the TURBO Elite Laser Ablation Catheter, and the TURBO-Booster Laser Guide Catheter, according to the DOJ.

To read the full press release, go to: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/December/09-civ-1385.html.

For more information about qui tam and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

]]> http://medicare-fraud.net/spectranetics-corporation-to-pay-5-million-to-resolve-allegations-of-health-care-fraud/feed/ 0 President Obama Vows to Eliminate Healthcare Fraud and Reduce Waste http://medicare-fraud.net/president-obama-vows-to-eliminate-healthcare-fraud-and-reduce-waste/ http://medicare-fraud.net/president-obama-vows-to-eliminate-healthcare-fraud-and-reduce-waste/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:09:29 +0000 Nolan and Auerbach http://medicare-fraud.net/?p=236 On Wednesday, September 9, 2009, President Barack Obama addressed Congress on the current debate over healthcare reform. In his speech, the President vowed he would eliminate “the hundreds of billions of dollars in waste and fraud.” Under his plan, an independent commission of doctors and medical experts would be appointed the task of uncovering fraud and abuse in the coming years.

President Obama’s speech further confirms that the fight against healthcare fraud is a top priority for the government, and its recently heightened efforts to recoup healthcare dollars by prosecuting violators underscores that message. Simply put, in order to afford a viable healthcare system unnecessary spending must be eliminated. We’ve said it before – the government is keeping a watchful eye on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, as well as fraud within the pharmaceutical industry. In fact, just last week the Office of Inspector General announced Medicaid Fraud Control Units recovered $1.3 billion in 2008.

Needing all the help they can get, federal regulators see whistleblowers as crucial players in the fight against healthcare fraud. As Marcella Auerbach pointed out in an interview with PBS in July, the healthcare industry receives a $15 return for every dollar the government spends on efforts to fight fraud. By spotting fraud early on, significant money can be recovered for patients and taxpayers.

For the entire transcript of President Obama’s speech, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-a-Joint-Session-of-Congress-on-Health-Care/

For more information about qui tam law and health care fraud, contact Nolan and Auerbach, PA.

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