The U.S. Justice Dept. (DOJ) announced that Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) agreed to pay more than $13 million to resolve kickback allegations.
Allegations against Dublin, Ohio-based include a violation of the False Claims Act by paying “upfront discounts” to its physician practice customers in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prevents pharmaceutical distributors from offering or paying any compensation to induce physicians to purchase drugs for use on Medicare patients, according to a DOJ news release. According to the acknowledged facts in the settlement agreement, Cardinal Health failed to meet requirements as the upfront discounts it provided to customers were not attributable to identifiable sales or were purported rebates that had not been earned by Cardinal Health customers.
“Cardinal Health recruited new customers by offering and paying cash bonuses in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claim…