DOJ settles $17M kickback case with catheter supplier
A medical device supply company in Georgia has agreed to pay $17 million to resolve claims that it violated the False Claims Act multiple times between 2016 and 2023 by offering discounts to doctors who issued prescriptions for its catheters.
According to federal prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in Georgia, the actions of C.R. Bard, which does business as Liberator Medical Supply, are tantamount to an illegal kickback scheme. The company’s sales representatives allegedly provided doctors with free samples of its catheters and other urology products to encourage them to use a Bard-managed prescription form that prioritized its products.
Patients would then unknowingly take the prescription to a medical supplier, who would fill it with Bard products, the DOJ claimed.
“Patients should be able to trust the recommendations they receive from their physician are what’s best for their health, not what’s financially beneficial to another provider,” Georgia Attorney General, Chris Carr, said in a statement. “We’re committed to putting a stop to any type of fraud or abuse within our healthcare system while protecting taxpayer dollars no matter the amount.”
Some of the patients were on Medicare or Medicaid, with physicians handing those patients prescriptions from Bard to be filled with the company’s products.
The DOJ said all of the above violated federal anti-kickback statutes. Despite agreeing to the settlement, Bard does not admit to wrongdoing. However, the criminal and civil allegations brought by the DOJ have now been resolved.
A former employee of Bard, Dirk Etheridge, was the first to bring the alleged scheme to light, with the help of whistleblower protections afforded under the False Claims Act. He will receive part of the settlement fund, as is customary under the law.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.