Bayer agrees to pay $97.5M to settle kickback probe

The Journal News

By Allan Drury
The Journal News • November 26, 2008

     Bayer HealthCare LLC of Tarrytown has agreed to pay the federal government $97.5 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks to diabetic suppliers and caused those suppliers to submit false Medicare claims, the U.S. Justice Department said yesterday.

Bayer, which makes products that diabetes patients use to test their blood, also agreed to sign a corporate integrity agreement intended to allow the government to monitor its practices.

Bayer makes diabetic-testing supplies and has contracts with companies that sell those products to patients.

The suppliers submit claims for reimbursement to Medicare, the federal health insurance program for people 65 and older.

But between 1998 and 2002, Bayer is alleged to have paid Liberty Medical Supply Inc. of Port St. Lucie, Fla., $2.5 million to move its patients to Bayer supplies. Bayer paid an additional $375,000 to 10 other diabetic suppliers to convert patients to Bayer supplies, the Justice Department said... Read More