LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (Legal Newsline) - Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced that the state will receive $121,568.64 in a settlement with Millennium Health over alleged violations of the False Claims Act.
Arkansas is one of 49 states and the District of Columbia to be a part of the settlement. All involved receive a portion of a total $256 million settlement.
Allegedly, Millennium Health, formerly Millennium Laboratories, violated the FCA for billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs. Millennium is one of the major urine drug testing labs in the U.S.
The claims stated that Millenium provided free items to physicians who referred expensive laboratory testing business to the company. The states also alleged that Millennium made physicians order excessive numbers of urine drug tests. The practice violated federal health care program rules.
“It is horrible to think that patients would be subjected to tests because one of the largest drug testing laboratories in the U.S. wants to increase its profit,” Rutledge said. “Companies who take advantage of Arkansas patients and steal from Medicaid and Medicare will not be tolerated.”
A team representing the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units led the settlement negotiations with the company on behalf of the United States. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New York and Washington Medicaid Fraud Control Units were part of the group.
The states coordinated with the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of Massachusetts.