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Respironics Inc., based in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, has agreed to pay $34.8 million to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations for paying kickbacks in the form of free call center services to durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers that bought its masks for patients with sleep apnea, the Department of Justice announced today.
“The payment of illegal remuneration in any form to induce patient referrals threatens public confidence in the health care system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Americans deserve to know that when they are prescribed a device to treat a serious health care problem, the supplier’s judgment has not been compromised by illegal payments from equipment manufacturers.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits the knowing and willful payment of any remuneration to induce the referral of services or items that are paid for by a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare, Medicaid or TRICARE. Claims submitted to these programs in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute are also false claims under the False Claims Act.
The United States alleged that Respironics violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by providing free services to DME suppliers to induce them to purchase Respironics masks that treat sleep apnea. Respironics allegedly provided DME companies with call center services to meet their patients’ resupply needs at no charge as long as the patients were using masks that Respironics manufactured; otherwise, the DME companies would have to pay a monthly fee based on the number of patients who used masks manufactured by a competitor of Respironics. The government alleged that the conduct began in April 2012 and continued until November 2015.
“This office has made a substantial commitment to combating fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles of the District of South Carolina. “Our commitment has made this district one of the leaders on behalf of whistleblowers. We hope that those who commit fraud will recognize that it is our goal to make the consequences more than just the cost of doing business.”
Respironics will pay roughly $34.14 million to the federal government and roughly $660,000 to various state governments based on their participation in the Medicaid program.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit originally brought by Dr. Gibran Ameer, who has worked for different DME companies, under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. The Act permits private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Under the civil settlement announced today, Dr. Ameer will receive $5.38 million out of the federal share of the recovery.
“Medical equipment manufacturers that boost profits by providing kickbacks to suppliers will be held accountable for their improper conduct,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “We will continue to investigate such business arrangements, which threaten the integrity of federal health care programs.”
This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $27.4 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $17.4 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
This settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of South Carolina, and HHS Office of Counsel to the Inspector General and Office of Investigations and the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
The lawsuit is captioned United States et al. ex rel. Dr. Gibran Ameer v. Philips Electronics North America, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-2077-PMD (D.S.C.). The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
(Reuters) - Respironics Inc has agreed to pay $34.8 million to settle U.S. Department of Justice claims that it provided kickbacks in the form of free call center services to suppliers, to induce them to buy its masks for patients suffering from sleep apnea.
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Wednesday’s settlement with the unit of Royal Philips NV resolves whistleblower claims originally brought by Dr. Gibran Ameer, a South Carolina pharmacist who worked for medical equipment suppliers that bought the masks.
Sleep apnea causes people to have breathing pauses that last at least a few seconds while they try to sleep.
More than 18 million Americans have the condition, according to the nonprofit National Sleep Foundation. Obstructive sleep apnea, the most common type, occurs when an airway collapses or becomes blocked.
The Justice Department said Respironics violated the federal False Claims Act by providing medical equipment suppliers with the call center services through its “Fit for Life” program, so long as their patients used its masks. It said the scheme ran from April 2012 to November 2015.
“Americans deserve to know that when they are prescribed a device to treat a serious health care problem, the supplier’s judgment has not been compromised by illegal payments from equipment manufacturers,” Benjamin Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement.
A spokesman for Amsterdam-based Philips said the accord offers “heightened clarity and transparency” for regulators and customers.
He also said Respironics “continues to have a good-faith belief that the Fit for Life program offered a permissible bundled discount of Respironics’ masks and resupply services under the appropriate discount safe harbors.”
Respironics has offices in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
The Justice Department said $34.14 million of the settlement will go to the federal government, and the remainder to various state governments. Ameer will receive $5.38 million from the federal government’s share, it said.
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The False Claims Act lets whistleblowers bring claims on behalf of the federal government and share in recoveries.
The case is U.S. ex rel Ameer v Respironics Inc, U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina, No. 14-02077.
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Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn