The AP (6/8, Lozano) reports that Orthofix Inc.,
"a Dallas-area medical manufacturer has agreed to pay $42 million in
penalties to settle civil and criminal cases related to fraudulent claims it
made to Medicare and other federal health care programs when selling bone
growth stimulator devices, the Justice Department announced Thursday." The
total includes "$34.2 million to settle a whistle-blower civil lawsuit
under the False Claims Act that alleged the company improperly waived patient
co-payments," and "a related criminal case" in which it
"has been ordered to pay a nearly $7.8 million criminal fine." The
company "said the 'settlement is neither an admission of liability by the
company or its subsidiaries ...' and that the settlement will not affect the
company's participation in federal health care programs."
Modern Healthcare (6/8, McKinney, Subscription
Publication) reports, "According to a news release from the Justice
Department, Lewisville, Texas-based Orthofix 'paid kickbacks to physicians and
their staffs in the form of 'fitter fees,' referral fees and other comparable
fees to induce the use' of the company's bone growth stimulator devices."
And "Stuart Delery, head of the Justice Department's civil division"
said in a statement, "The resolution of this matter yielded a substantial
recovery for taxpayers, and should deter other companies from engaging in such
conduct in the future."
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