Shortly before the holidays, Boston Scientific agreed to pay $22 million to resolve allegations that its subsidiary, Guidant, paid kickbacks to physicians to induce them to use Guidant pacemakers and defibrillators, in addition to a previous agreement to pay a $296 million fine resulting from a criminal investigation relating to defective defibrillators. On December 23, 2009, Boston Scientific entered into a separate civil kickback settlement due to allegations that Guidant paid between $1,000 and $1,500 to cardiologists and electrophysiologists to participate in post-marketing studies. As part of this settlement, Boston Scientific must publish the names of the physicians involved and payment amounts on the CIA’s website by June 2011.
For more information on Stark or Anti-kickback, please contact Adrienne Dresevic, Esq. at (248) 996-8510, or visit HLP’s page on Stark and Anti-Kickback.
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