GE Pays $30 Million to Settle Over-Billing Accusation

GE Healthcare got a little more than it bargained for when it acquired Amersham Health Inc. in 2004. The company recently paid the federal government $30 million to settle allegations that Amersham violated the False Claims Act. The Justice Department alleged that Amersham overbilled Medicare for a radiopharmaceuticals it used in certain cardiac diagnostic imaging procedures known as 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,” a press release states. The settlement comes as a result of a lawsuit brought under whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower in the case, James Wagel, will receive $5.1 million from the government’s settlement.