Myoview Whistleblower Receives $5.1 Million

By Mike Holter

(LEGAFI) -- GE Healthcare has paid the U.S. government $30 million, plus interest, to settle a whistleblower lawsuit accusing a company it acquired, Amersham Health, of overcharging Medicare for the drug Myoview. The whistleblower in the lawsuit will receive $5.1 million from the government’s recovery, according to a statement by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Myoview is a radiopharmaceutical used in certain cardiac diagnostic imaging procedures. Certain Medicare payment rates for Myoview were based, in part, on the number of doses available from vials of Myoview. The government alleges that Amersham Health provided false or misleading information to Medicare regarding the number of doses available from vials, causing Medicare to pay for Myoview at artificially inflated rates.

“It’s important for drug manufacturers to provide accurate pricing information to Medicare so that taxpayers aren't overcharged for medicines purchased with their dollars,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “As this case demonstrates, we remain committed to ensuring that Medicare funds are expended efficiently and appropriately.”

The allegations arise from a whistleblower lawsuit that was brought under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of fraud against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The law allows whistleblowers to receive up to 30 percent of any recovered funds. The DOJ says the whistleblower in this suit will receive $5.1 million from the government’s recovery.

The DOJ says it has recovered more than $6.6 billion since January 2009 in False Claims Act cases involving fraud against federal health programs.