Pharmaceutical Kickbacks

Right now the pharmaceutical industry is in the middle of its biggest challenge in history. Whistleblowers have exposed and continue to expose fraudulent practices ranging from pricing issues to sales and marketing practices at a rate never anticipated by either the pharmaceutical industry or the Department of Justice. Settlements and jury verdicts have been headline grabbing and large, attracting the attention of pharma, regulators, Congress and taxpayers. The qui tam pharmaceutical fraud cases settled since 2000 alone have amounted to over 3.5 billion dollars, representing various patterns of fraud. We expect to see some new patterns as time goes by, especially with the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Pharmaceutical fraud is still abundant and this blog is intended to keep readers up to date with all pharmaceutical fraud related news and to provide commentary when warranted. This blog also contains an array of laws and regulations concerning the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act set out in an easy to read format.

Allegedly Tainted Blood Claims and Generous Medical Directorship result in 5.7 Million Dollar Settlement

by Nolan and Auerbach on October 24, 2006

Northside Hospital located in Atlanta, Georgia, has agreed to pay $5.7 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging tainted claims were submitted to Medicare because they were the result of improper financial and referral relationships in violation of the Stark law. Two former employees of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Group of Georgia (BMTGA) filed a false claims act lawsuit;  BMTGA, in affiliation with Northside Hospital, also operated a clinical transplant program for stem cell transplants and cancer treatment.  The transplant physicians who own the transplant group also own Atlanta Blood Services, a clinical lab that provided services and blood products to Northside Hospital.

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