This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) intervened in a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against Life Spine and two of its executives, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that Life Spine violated the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying more than $7 million in consulting fees, royalties, and intellectual property acquisition fees to surgeons to induce them to use Life Spine products in spinal surgeries. According to the complaint, the payment of these illegal kickbacks caused the submission of false claims to federal healthcare programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, under the theory that any claim for payment submitted in connection with an illegal kickback is “false” within the meaning of the FCA.
CMS releases 2018 Open Payments data
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released Open Payments data reflecting payments and transfers of value from drug and medical device companies to physicians and teaching hospitals in 2018, totaling approximately $9.35 billion in payments and more than 11.4 million payment records. This represents a 4.3% increase from the $8.4 billion reported in 2017.