Quest Diagnostics Pays the United States $1.79 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
Another qui tam Medicare case came to a resolution this week when Quest Diagnostics Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (known collectively as Quest Diagnostics) paid the United States $1.79 million to settle claims that it violated the False Claims Act. Whistleblower lawyers are keeping busy as the United States aggressively pursues Medicare fraud cases such as this one.
Quest Diagnostics’ settlement resolves allegations that the company submitted duplicative claims to Medicare for certain venipuncture services and diagnostic tests and certain panel tests and select components of those panels. The United States alleged that these payments violated the False Claims Act. It is important to note that the claims settled by this agreement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of California under the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The whistleblower who stepped forward in this case will receive will receive $358,000 in whistleblower rewards.
