GE Healthcare will pay $30 million to the Justice Department to settle allegations that it marketed a cardiology drug in a way that reduced its effectiveness while allowing users to potentially overbill Medicare, reports The Detroit Free Press.
The settlement comes as part of a 2006 whistleblower case brought by an individual who sold a competing drug.
GE was accused of marketing the drug, Myoview, to clinicians in a way that suggested it could be diluted, stretching a single vial into multiple treatments. The drug is used by hospitals and cardiologists to see blood flow in the hearts of patients and better detect coronary heart disease and other conditions.
Diluting the drug violated guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration, and enabled providers to bill Medicare multiple times for using the same vial. The diluted drug also resulted in more false positives and exposed patients to further testing.
Regulators have not yet said whether they will pursue providers for overbilling Medicare regarding their usage of Myoview.
For more information:
- read the Detroit Free Press article
- here's the Justice Department's statement