A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Medtronic Inc who is accused of using various types of payments to induce physicians to implant pacemakers and defibrillators manufactured and sold by Medtronic.
The whistleblower will receive a $1.73 million share of the government's recovery.
The case was filed in January of 2009 and alleges that Medtronic caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid by using multiple types of illegal kickbacks to induce physicians to implant Medtronic pacemakers and defibrillators. Specifically, Medtronic allegedly induced physicians to use its products by: 1) paying implanting physicians to speak at events intended to increase the flow of referral business; 2) developing marketing/business development plans for physicians at no cost; and 3) providing tickets to sporting events. The United States alleged that Medtronic paid the remuneration to persuade the physicians to continue using Medtronic products or to convert their business from a competitor’s products.
