DaVita HealthCare sets aside $495 million to cover fraud claims
The case could be the largest settlement for an False Claims Act case brought without government intervention.
Dialysis machine
Kidney care company DaVita HealthCare has set aside $495 million to resolve a suit alleging the Denver-based healthcare company over-billed for reimbursement of dialysis drugs.
The case could be the largest settlement for a False Claims Act case brought without government intervention.
[Also: DaVita CFO resigns after settlements sting dialysis provider]
DaVita in an earnings statement released Monday said it had set aside $450 million to settle the case, along with another $45 million in attorneys' fees and other costs.
The deal would settle a case originally brought by whistleblowers who claimed that between 2003 and 2010 DaVita intentionally spread out medication dosages to increase reimbursements.
[Also: Running list of notable 2015 healthcare frauds]
The U.S. Justice Department also claimed DaVita violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to induce the referral of patients to its dialysis clinics.
In October 2014, DaVita Healthcare Partners, a leading provider of dialysis services with clinics in 46 states, agreed to pay $350 million and another $39 million in civil forfeiture to resolve these claims.
“Although we believe strongly in the merits of our case, we decided it was in our stakeholders’ best interests to resolve it,” DaVita Chief Legal Officer Kim Rivera said in a statement.
Twitter: @SusanMorseHFN
