ev3 Settles False Medicare Claims for $1.25M; Whistleblower to Get $250K
ev3, Inc., formerly known as Fox Hollow Technologies Inc., has agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false claims to Medicare for unnecessary inpatient admissions, the U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday.
The United States alleged that Fox Hollow knowingly caused 12 hospitals located throughout nine states to submit claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary inpatient stays for certain Medicare beneficiaries undergoing elective atherectomy procedures. Atherectomy is a minimally-invasive surgical procedure that uses a small cutting device to remove atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, from large blood vessels within the body, and it is intended to open up narrowed coronary arteries to increase blood flow and circulation. One such device used in atherectomy procedures is the Silver Hawk Plaque Excision System sold by Fox Hollow. The United States alleged that Fox Hollow advised hospitals that they should bill Silver Hawk atherectomy procedures as more expensive inpatient claims, as opposed to less costly outpatient claims. As a result, certain hospitals allegedly claimed greater reimbursement than they were entitled to for treating Medicare beneficiaries who underwent Silver Hawk atherectomy procedures.
The civil settlement resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and obtain a portion of the government’s recovery. The lawsuit was filed by Amanda Cashi, who formerly worked as a Fox Hollow sales representative. Cashi will receive $250,000.
The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments. We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud. Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.