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Medicare Fraud Scandal Rocks Tennessee
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – February 19, 2019 – The United States has intervened in a False Claims Act case alleging that Arriva Medical, LLC (Arriva) and its parent Alere Inc. (Alere) submitted or caused false claims to the Medicare program for medically unnecessary glucometers and paid kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in the form of free glucometers and copayment waivers, the Justice Department announced today.
Arriva is a mail-order diabetic testing supply company based in Coral Springs, Florida, which, at one point, had operations in Antioch, Tennessee. Alere is a large medical device company based in Waltham, Massachusetts, which acquired Arriva in 2011. Both Arriva and Alere were acquired by Abbott Laboratories in September 2017, after the alleged conduct occurred.
The False Claims Act lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Arriva, with the oversight and approval of Alere, offered “free upgrades” of glucometers to Medicare beneficiaries. Because Arriva required all new customers to receive a new meter, regardless of whether they already had a functioning meter, Arriva allegedly routinely submitted false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary meters.
“When medical equipment companies scheme to enrich themselves by unlawfully increasing the sales volume of durable medical equipment, they place our federal health care programs in jeopardy,” said U.S. Attorney Cochran. “The restrictions imposed by federal statutes exist to prevent improper practices, including providing unnecessary medical equipment and billing Medicare for it.
We will continue to enforce the laws that protect the integrity of federal health care programs,” said U.S. Attorney Cochran. “We will seek to hold accountable health care providers that attempt to profit by providing illegal inducements and by billing for unnecessary items,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Civil Division.
The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over responsibility for litigating these cases, as it has done here in part.
A defendant who violates the act is subject to three times the government’s losses, plus applicable penalties. This case is being handled by the Justice Department’s Civil Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, with assistance from the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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