BioTelemetry and LifeWatch Settle False Claim Charges for $14.7 Million

BioTelemetry, owned by Philips, and its subsidiary, LifeWatch Services, have agreed to pay more than $14.7 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly submitting claims to federal government programs for a higher level of cardiac monitoring than physicians intended to order.

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) settlement agreement explains that the company knew the design of its online enrollment portal for this device caused “unwitting clinical staff” to select the type of remote cardiac monitoring that provided the highest rate of reimbursement, “even when the doctor intended to order a less expensive service.”

The DOJ also contends that the company’s sales personnel instructed clinical staff to select the highest-level service “even when Defendants knew the Account’s physicians intended to order event monitoring for many or all patients – and then provided and billed for telemetry services.”

Read the DOJ settlement agreement here.

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