CBS Evening News (11/3, story 9, 1:40, Smith) reported, “As members of Congress debate healthcare reform, most would agree there needs to be a crackdown on cheating. Chief Investigative Correspondent Armen Keteyian reports now on a staggering fraud settlement involving healthcare giant Omnicare.” CBS (Keteyian) added that “Omnicare agreed to pay nearly $100 million to settle a series of complaints with the Justice Department for paying and receiving kickbacks.”
The Wall Street Journal reports that Omnicare was accused of paying kickbacks to nursing homes to encourage patient referrals for pharmacy services. The Department of Justice also alleged that the company accepted kickbacks from Johnson & Johnson for recommending that physicians prescribe its antipsychotic Risperdal.
“The government also said Omnicare asked for, and received, $8 million in kickbacks from Ivax Pharmaceuticals, and in return, Omnicare bought $50 million in drugs from Ivax,” the AP reports. For its part, “Omnicare denies the government’s claims and denies any liability.” Meanwhile, “the government said it is continuing to investigate the two nursing home chains, Mariner Health Care and SavaSeniorCare Administrative Services.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
