WWW.USDOJ.GOV

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A medical device manufacturer has paid the United States $535,000 to settle allegations it improperly marketed a medical device used to treat chronic intractable lymphedma, causing dealers of the device to submit false claims for reimbursement to the Medicare program, the Department of Justice announced today.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David W. Ogden of the Civil Division said the settlement resolves a lawsuit brought in Toledo, Ohio, on June 10, 1996, against Beiersdorf-Jobst, Inc., based in Charlotte, N.C.

"We want all health care providers who participate in the Medicare program to understand that the Department of Justice will investigate and proceed against those who try to defraud these vital programs for America's senior citizens," said Ogden.

The suit claimed that Beiersdorf-Jobst told dealers to whom it sold the Jobst model 7500 lymphedema pump that the device qualified for reimbursement under Medicare procedure code EO652, which was applicable to more sophisticated devices than the model 7500 pump. Filing for reimbursement under that code caused dealers to receive approximately $2,700 more per pump than the procedure code for which the model 7,500 qualified, EO651.

The settlement also resolves claims that the company itself submitted false claims to Medicare through sales of lymphedema pumps directly to patients.

###

99-519