Whistleblower News From The Inside — October 30, 2015
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Nearly 500 Hospitals pay $250m to resolve cardiac implantation whistleblower case — The DOJ reached 70 settlements involving 457 hospitals in 43 states for more than $250 million related to cardiac devices that were implanted in Medicare patients in violation of Medicare coverage requirements relating to satisfying certain waiting periods before performing the implantation surgery. DOJ
Warner Chilcott pleads guilty to felony health care fraud scheme and pays $125m to resolve FCA allegations — Warner Chilcott U.S. Sales LLC has agreed to plead guilty to a felony charge of health care fraud as part of a global settlement in which it agreed to pay $125 million to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s illegal marketing of several drugs. DOJ
Former executive at Warner Chilcott arrested on kickback charge — In a rare move against a pharmaceutical executive, federal agents arrested Carl Reichel, the former president of an Allergan PLC division, Warner Chilcott, on a charge of conspiring to pay kickbacks to physicians to induce them to prescribe the company’s drugs. WSJ
10th Circuit rejects whistleblower case over Medicare guidelines — A federal appeals court ruled that Medicare guidelines stating that doctors, rather than nurses or physicians’ assistants, should take patients’ histories are not legally binding and cannot be the sole grounds for a whistleblower lawsuit. Reuters
European Parliament urges protection for Edward Snowden — The European Parliament narrowly adopted a nonbinding but nonetheless forceful resolution urging the 28 nations of the European Union to recognize Edward J. Snowden as a “whistle-blower and international human rights defender” and shield him from prosecution. NYT
Jury awards ex-N.J. corrections employee $7.7 million — A prison official who was fired just months before she would have qualified for full retirement benefits for helping aid the FBI in an investigation of another prison official who was soliciting bribes from employees has been awarded millions in a whistleblower lawsuit. NJ.com