6 Biggest Government Health Insurance Frauds – Part 2

4) Serono
In October 2005, Serono paid $704 million to settle a fraud case involving Serostim, a human growth hormone used to fight AIDS. Serono received kickbacks from physicians and pharmacies for prescriptions as well as illegal schemes to market and sell the drug. Of the $704 million, $567 million settled state and federal claims while $136.9 million was used to pay criminal fines.

 
 
5) Taketa-Abbott Pharmaceutical (TAP)

In October 2001, TAP agreed to pay $875 million in claims in connection with the illegal promotion and sale of Lupron, a treatment for prostate cancer. $559 million of the total claim was paid to federal and state governments and another $290 million in criminal fines. At the time it was the largest criminal fine ever paid in a health care fraud case. According to reports, some of the kickbacks involved doctors receiving free televisions and seminars at plush resorts.

6) Abbott Labs

In July 2003, Abbots Labs paid $400 million dollars to the government under the False Claims Act. One of their subsidiaries agreed to pay an additional $200 million criminal fine. Abbot pled guilty to bundling claims for enteral feeding equipment in exchange for purchasing their food products. Abbot sold two separate products and billed them as one under a higher price.

These fraud cases are the largest in US history but sadly there are many companies that operate illegal practices without ever getting caught by the government. These practices drive up health care costs for all taxpayers.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.