Michigan man spearheads Medicare fraud lawsuit, wins; GE Healthcare settles lawsuit for $30M
In Michigan, the company GE Healthcare has settled a lawsuit for $30 million with an individual named James Wagel. Wagel filed the suit in 2006 on behalf of the government under the federal False Claims Act, and alleged that Amersham Biosciences – a division of GE Healthcare – knowingly gave false or misleading information to Medicare from 2000 to 2003. The claims were related to a drug called Myoview that was used by cardiologists to perform nuclear stress tests. Wagel accused Amersham Biosciences of diluting the drug to maximize its doses and of inflating the rate of reimbursement.
GE Healthcare has been sued and has settled before for providing defective CT scan machines in Alabama and allegedly risky intravenous contrast agency in Pennsylvania. In each of the cases mentioned, GE Healthcare has been accused of practices that put its patients at risk for serious harm, illness, or even death. Despite the lawsuits and settlements, GE Healthcare continues to profit from services provided to healthcare practitioners and institutions across the United States. Information on false claims and fraud in California and nationwide is available here.
