HARRISBURG, Pa. (Legal Newsline) - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane announced on Monday that her office joined a $2.8 million multi-state and federal settlement with a medical device manufacturer that allegedly improperly solicited Medicaid recipients.
The Minnesota-based Medtronic Inc. and its subsidiary Medtronic Minimed Inc., doing business as Medtronic Diabetes, allegedly submitted claims to Medicaid programs for replacement insulin infusion pumps that were initiated through improper solicitation of Medicaid recipients.
The settlement, which involves 36 states and the federal government, resolves a federal and state False Claims Act lawsuit that was filed in 2011. Former Medtronic employees sued the company in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleging Medtronic directly solicited Medicaid recipients to replace their insulin infusion pumps. The lawsuit alleged Medtronic's practices were in violation of a federal Anti-Solicitation Rule and similar state laws.
Under the terms of the settlement, Medtronic will pay approximately $327,000 to settle Medicaid-based claims nationally. Pennsylvania will receive more than $13,000 from Medtronic to resolve the allegations.
The National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (NAMFCU) conducted settlement negotiations on behalf of the states. The NAMFCU team included representatives from the offices of attorneys general for the states of Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Ohio, Indiana and California.
Medtronic agrees to $2.8M False Claims Act settlement
