The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Arriva Medical and its parent Alere for submitting or causing false claimed to the Medicare program.
The agency also included Ted Albin, a reimbursement consultant for Arriva, as defendant in the lawsuit.
Arriva is a mail-order diabetic testing supply company based in Coral Springsm Florida. Alere is a big medical device company based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Abbot Laboratories acquired both companies in September 2017, after the alleged misconduct.
Allegations against Arriva, Alere
The DOJ alleged that Arriva and Allere routinely submitted false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary glucometers. The companies’ action is a violation of the False Claims Act.
Additionally, the companies allegedly paid kickbacks to Medicare beneficiaries in the form of copayment waivers and free glucometers or diabetic testing supplies. Anti-Kickback Statutes prohibits companies from waiving copayments or provision of other benefits to encourage patients to buy a product or service.
