Philips’ (NYSE: PHG) + BioTelemetry and its LifeWatch subsidiary agreed to pay more than $14.7 million over False Claims Act violation allegations.
Philips acquired BioTelemetry in a $2.8 billion deal in 2021.
The BioTelemetry subsidiary settled allegations of knowingly submitting claims to federal healthcare programs for a higher level of remote cardiac monitoring than physicians intended to order, or that was medically necessary. This inflated the level of reimbursement paid to LifeWatch, according to the U.S. Dept. of Justice (DOJ).
DOJ’s allegations center around the period between July 1, 2014, and Dec. 31, 2020, and the LifeWatch ACT-3L device. It says LifeWatch marketed the device to doctors as capable of performing three different types of heart monitoring services. According to DOJ, the BioTelemetry subsidiary marketed holter monitoring, event monitoring and telemetry.
Of these, telem…