Phillips is paying US prosecutors more than $24 million (€24.1 million) for allegedly defrauding US health insurance programmes. With the settlement, the company and the judiciary put an end to this.
Prosecutors accused a Philips subsidiary of bribing medical equipment suppliers. The allegations revolve around the former Respironics, a ventilator company owned by Philips since 2007.
The subsidiary is suspected of having medical device suppliers “paid” with free information about treatments doctors prescribe to patients. This can be useful in marketing. In contrast, providers have urged Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare to choose Respironics, which may amount to deception.
Phillips maintains that she does not plead guilty in the settlement. However, the medical technology company has promised to participate in the process of doing business with integrity. Previous Respironics is also taking a closer look at its deals with parties that prescribe medical treatments to patients. The company’s sales team is also supervised.
A Respironics employee who reported the alleged fraud to US authorities will receive a portion of the money paid by Philips. It’s about $4.3 million, according to the US Department of Justice.
Earlier this week, Philips reached a $4.2 million settlement with US attorneys general. The company did not properly inform the military about modifications to some medical equipment used by the armed forces.
