2007 a "good year" for health fraud whistleblowers

In fiscal year 2007, (ending Sept. 30) the US Justice Department received $2 billion in fraud settlements, with most of the recoveries coming form whistleblower lawsuits.
Individuals who filed whistleblower suits were awarded $177 million in 2007, with most of that coming from health care fraud lawsuits.
The Justice Department is cracking down on illegal and unethical pharmaceutical company practices such as inflating the price of drugs that are reimbursed by federal programs, and paying kickbaks to physicains and pharmacists who push drugs for uses that have not even been FDA approved, also known as "off-label" marketing.

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