The top 5 healthcare fraud settlements in the U.S. in 2018 totalling $2.5 Billion

U.S. Healthcare companies paid the bulk of all False Claims Act whistleblower settlements in 2018 accounting for $2.5 billion. These came from drug and medical device manufacturers, managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, hospice care organizations, hospitals, pharmacies, and laboratories.

The five largest settlements in 2018 are:

  1. AmericourseBergen Corp and some subsidiaries paid $625 million to settle claims that the drug wholesaler fraudulently repackaged cancer drugs into pre-filled syringes sending them to doctors treating cance patients.
  2. Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc. paid $360 million to settle claims it illegally paid copays of thousands of Medicare patients who used the drug makers hypertension. The Government said the company used Caring Voice Coalition Inc. a tax-exempt patient financial assistance charity as an illegal conduit to pay the copays.
  3. Davita Inc. subsidiary paid $270 million to settle claims it provided inaccurate info about patients that caused Medicare Advantage plans to receive inflated payments from the government.
  4. Health Management Associates paid $260 million to settle fraud charges which included kickbacks to physicians. Prosecutors alleged that HMA paid doctors in exchange for patient referrals.