Showing posts with label health care fraud billing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health care fraud billing. Show all posts

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Largest Criminal Fines




Pfizer Whistleblower Gets Huge Reward

It’s an amazing story and one worth talking about.  Gulf War veteran and former Pfizer sales representative John Kopchinski is getting $51 million dollars as a result of his whistleblowing lawsuit against Pfizer – the world’s biggest drug maker -- and that's big news.
Pfizer to Pay $2.3 Billion for Fraudulent Marketing 
According to a statement from the Justice Department,   Pfizer’s illegal practices in connection with its promotion of an anti-inflammatory drug called  Bextra is what got it into big trouble.

Pfizer also agreed to pay $1 billion to resolve allegations under the civil False Claims Act(also know as Qui Tam).
Under the Act, it is illegal to knowingly present a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government or use a false or fraudulent record to get paid. 

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Read more HERE

Criminal Rick Scott
Rick Scott, who ran a company involved in the nation's largest Medicare fraud case, became Florida's governor

May 20, 2010|By Sally Kestin, Sun Sentinel
It was and still is the biggest Medicare fraud case in U.S. history and ended with the hospital giant Columbia/HCA paying a record $1.7 billion in fines, penalties and damages.
Now the man who ran the company at the time wants to be Florida's governor.
Rick Scott was co-founder and CEO of Columbia/HCA in the 1990s, when the FBI launched a massive, multi-state investigation that led to the company pleading guilty to criminal charges of overbilling the government.
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!


More Big Pharma Crimes
GlaxoSmithKline $3 billion ($1B crimimal, $2B civil) for the following violations
Criminal: Off-label promotion, failure to disclose safety data.
Civil: paying kickbacks to physicians, making false and misleading
statements concerning the safety of Avandia, reporting false best
prices and underpaying rebates owed under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program
Pfizer$2.3 billion in finesOff-label promotion/kickbacks
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!





Abbott Laboratories$1.5 billion in finesOff-label promotion
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED


Eli Lilly$1.4 billionOff-label promotion

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED
TAP Pharmaceutical Products$875 millionMedicare fraud/kickbacks


AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED




Johnson's Baby Shampoo Causes Cancer CLICK HERE

When Johnson & Johnson  agreed to pay $2.2 billion in civil and criminal fines last week for invalidly promoting one of its best-selling drugs of the past decade, Risperdal, it marked another victory for the Department of Justice’s campaign to root out off-label marketing. The multibillion settlement came in the wake of several outsized payouts the DOJ has extracted from other pharmaceutical giants in recent years for similar wrongdoing. Despite the gaudy sums, however, it’s unlikely that the industry will curb its reliance on off-label prescriptions. The practice is simply too lucrative to pass up.

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

Are you noticing a pattern here? I am not only referring to the fact that none of the corporate gangsters were arrested, I am referring to the fact that the biggest corporate crimes are committed by medical corporations. 

What would you say if 10 of the top 26 pharmaceutical companies had been telling you bold faced lies about the drugs they sell you? Would you be upset? Irritated? Maybe on a good day, bemused? According to 2 papers published by one of the most prestigious medical journals - The New England Journal of Medicine - even seemingly-astronomical fines aren't keeping Big Pharma honest.  READ MORE HERE...

(NaturalNews) In 2012, five pharmaceutical companies agreed to pay nearly $5.5 billion to settle allegations of fraud, including promotion of medicines for uses not approved by the FDA. The settlements represent the continued trend of record-breaking fines, settlements and lawsuits which have become a routine part of doing business for Big Pharma.

Between 2004 and 2010, major drug companies paid out $7 billion in fines, penalties and lawsuits for fraudulently marketing their drugs, making misleading claims about the drugs safety and hiding or altering studies which indicated evidence of harm. The threat of massive payouts does not appear to offer much deterrent.


Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/041261_Big_Pharma_settlements_fines.html#ixzz347CF41QH

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!






Hospitals Are Run By Elite Criminals 

Pacific Health Corporation was involved in the medical billing scam with using the Homeless.image  The corporation pleaded guilty and paid $16.5 million in which 3 of the company hospitals were involved.  Also there’s Anaheim General which was bought by Pacific Health who a few years ago lost and then regained their accreditation.  Here’s a couple back links on the history.
Anaheim General Hospital Up for Sale – Booted The CEO, Got Our Accreditation Back And Are Ready to Start Taking Offers…
Patient Dumping Back in the News – Hospital to Pay fine
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!


Hospital chain accused of Medicare overbilling - Encore ...

AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!

A billion dollars paid Click HERE 

ECHN suitor paid sum for overbilling, fraud, kickback allegations


The big for-profit hospital chain from Texas negotiating to buy Eastern Connecticut Health Network has paid more than $1 billion over the last decade to settle a series of fraud, overbilling, kickback, and other allegations by its biggest customer: the federal government.
Tenet Healthcare Corp. also agreed to pay more than half as much — $641 million — to settle hundreds of civil lawsuits as well as an additional $80 million to pay back taxes after an IRS audit.
The payments included $395 million to settle unnecessary surgery complaints involving 769 cardiac patients at a California hospital, $215 million to settle federal class-action lawsuits by investors, and $31 million to end lawsuits on behalf of 106 heart surgery patients at a Florida hospital.

The latter said they suffered severe post-operative infections at the hospital that Florida regulators fined $95,000 for improper infection control after 20 patients died.
The six settlements Tenet made since 2003 with the U.S. Justice Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Securities and Exchange Commission pre-empted civil or criminal charges against the company and stopped its facilities from being excluded from the federal Medicare program.
On at least two of those occasions, Tenet made the agreements without admitting liability or wrongdoing.
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!
AND NOBODY EVEN GOT ARRESTED!


AND NOBODY EVER GETS ARRESTED! Welcome to Korporate Amerika

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Medical Billing Fraud

Medical Billing Fraud is Rampant

Blue Cross Blue Shield estimates that 1/3 of every dollar Americans spend on health care services goes to cover waste and fraud. That's more than we spend on national defense and we spent nearly 600 billion on our defense.  Much of this fraud is billing fraud and chances are your own doctor is one of the thieves.

Understanding Healthcare Fraud

Patients and their medical insurance information can be exploited in various ways that result in increased costs and decreased confidence in the healthcare system. As part of our efforts to improve and protect the healthcare system, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Anti-Fraud Department is undertaking a nationwide campaign to share how physicians, healthcare providers and customers can help with healthcare fraud detection and prevention.

Protect Yourself  

We encourage you to follow these general guidelines to safeguard yourself from preventable medical errors and improve the quality of care you receive.
  1. After care, review your statement to verify accuracy. Learn how to read your Explanation of Benefits.
  2. Ask your doctor to explain the reason for services
  3. Report any discrepancies to your health insurance plan or payer
  4. Beware of "free" medical services, as illicit entities use this lure to obtain information
  5. Safeguard your insurance card the same as you would your credit card
  6. Report instances where co-payments or deductibles are waived
  7. Don’t give your insurance number to marketers or solicitors
  8. Never sign a blank insurance form

 

The Costs of Health Care Fraud

Healthcare expenditures topped $2 trillion in 2008 and are expected to exceed $3 trillion by 2014. The most conservative estimate of the amount of healthcare expenditures lost to fraud is three percent, which equates to over $70 billion annually.

That amount costs the average family of four over $200 a year above what they would pay for the honest delivery of healthcare goods and services. Losses attributed to wasteful spending, including fraud and abuse, may be as high as 30%.

 

Report Fraud

If you suspect that healthcare dollars are being paid improperly or as a result of false or misleading information provided to a Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, notify your local Blue Cross and Blue Shield company.Our Partners
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Office of Inspector General
Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Inspector General
Office of Personnel Management

Office of Inspector General
U.S. Postal Service

Federal Trade Commission
U.S. Postal Inspection Service
Food and Drug Administration
Department of Health and Human Services

Office of Inspector General
Department of Labor

National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association
Coalition Against Insurance Fraud
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
State Attorneys General
State Departments of Insurance
State and Local Police Departments White Collar Crime Units
State Medical Licensing and Disciplinary Boards