featured news

New Report Highlights Growing Trend of Medicare Part D Fraud & Opioid Abuse

Over the next two posts, we will examine a recent report published by the Office of Inspector General, along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In the report, which is entitled “Questionable Billing and Geographic Hotspots Point to Potential Fraud and Abuse in Medicare Part D,” authorities […]

UPDATE: Georgia Hospital Settles Amid Allegations of Unlawful Kickbacks in Exchange for Obstetric Referrals

In 2014, we covered the government’s decision to intervene in a False Claims Act lawsuit involving several Central Georgia-area hospitals and possible Medicaid fraud. As a bit of review, the case involved several hospitals, including Tenet Healthcare, Health Management Associates, and Clinica de la Mama, an OB/GYN facility geared toward […]

Berger Montague Exploring Possible Fraud Within Indexed Universal Life Insurance Policies

An indexed universal life insurance policy is a financial product designed to offer policyholders a variable return rate on their insurance funds, usually tied to the daily rates as set by entities like Standard & Poor’s. More specifically, these policies – which are predominantly similar to traditional universal life insurance […]

Multiple Whistleblower Lawsuits Against Novartis Could Amount to $3 Billion in Fines and Penalties

In one of the largest potential whistleblower settlements[1. http://taf.org/blog/costly-kickbacks-novartis-potentially-faces-3-billion-fines] to date, drug maker Novartis is facing a staggering $3.35 billion in fines and penalties from the Department of Justice over two of its best-selling prescription medications: Exjade and a treatment for kidney transplant patients. In a separate concurrent whistleblower lawsuit against the […]

AstraZeneca & Celaphon to Pay Whopping $54 Million to Settle Claims of Fraud Against Medicaid

In today’s case, we examine a recent False Claims Act settlement involving the Medicaid drug rebate program. The drug rebate program[1. http://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Benefits/Prescription-Drugs/Medicaid-Drug-Rebate-Program.html] is essentially a partnership between the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), state Medicaid offices, and private drug manufacturers. Generally, private drug manufacturers are offered the opportunity to […]