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Court finds Fresenius did not violate False Claims Act in overfill case
The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia has ruled that Fresenius Medical Care did not violate the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for the overfill in medication vials, the National Law Review reported.
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The relator had alleged that Fresenius violated the False Claims Act by billing Medicare for the overfill in medication vials. According to the Naitonal Law Review, the district court did find the billing practices impermissible, but determined that the relator could not prove that Fresenius knew it was impermissible, or “acted with deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard as to the impermissibility of billing for administered overfill.”
In its ruling, the court highlighted that Fresenius had disclosed its overfill billing to the government and the government never warned Fresenius that such billing was impermissible. The court ruled that Fresenius made serious efforts to comply with Medicare rules and regulations. -by Rebecca Zumoff
Read the full summary of the ruling at the National Law Review.