HEAT Settlement Resolves Alleged Inducement of Medicare and Medicaid Business
Next time you wonder how seriously the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) takes fraud and abuse, be assured they are very serious. This recently announced settlement arose from allegations the DOJ received from a whistleblower that Rite Aid provided gift cards to Medicaid and/or Medicare beneficiaries as an “inducement” to transfer their prescriptions to Rite Aid. Stephanie Yonekura, the Acting U.S. Attorney for Central District of California was quoted as saying the “settlement holds Rite Aid accountable for exerting undue influence on individuals when they make important healthcare decisions about where and when to fill prescriptions.” As part of the settlement, the whistleblower who filed the allegations will receive $508,300 of the settlement.