BioTelemetry and LifeWatch to Pay $14.7 Million in False Claims Act Settlement

The companies allegedly inflated claims for remote cardiac monitoring services, leading to higher reimbursements than were medically necessary or intended by physicians.

• BioTelemetry Inc. and its subsidiary, LifeWatch Services Inc., have agreed to pay more than $14.7 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.
• The companies allegedly submitted claims to federal health care programs for a higher level of remote cardiac monitoring than was medically necessary or intended by physicians, inflating the level of reimbursement paid to LifeWatch.
• The U.S. contended that LifeWatch's online enrollment portal for the ACT-3L device caused clinical staff to unwittingly select the most expensive service, telemetry, even when a less expensive service was intended.
• LifeWatch's sales personnel allegedly instructed clinical staff to select options that resulted in patients being enrolled for telemetry services, even when they knew the clinic’s physicians intended to order less costly services.
• The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Michael Pelletier, an individual employed by one of LifeWatch’s customers, and SFP I LLC. Pelletier will receive approximately $2.3 million, and SFP I LLC will receive approximately $270,000.

3 Articles

U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Justice