Exagen Inc., a California-based life sciences company producing diagnostic tests for autoimmune disease treatment, has agreed to pay $653,143 as a settlement for allegations charging the company with paying specimen processing fees to refer physicians as an inducement for using their lab tests.

In this settlement, Exagen admitted to paying certain referring doctors for patient blood draws, a practice which continued even after Exagen was aware of a Special Fraud Alert from the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General, stating that such practice of paying referring physicians for specimen processing could lead to significant risks of fraud and abuse. Exagen then billed federal healthcare programs, like Medicare, for tests done after receiving orders from these very physicians it had paid for specimen processing. The allegations that resulted in the settlement were initially brought forth in a lawsuit by a whistleblower under the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions, leading to the whistleblower receiving 16% of the recovery in line with the settlement announced today.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello, and Christopher F. Algieri from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham.

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Originating Article: Justice.gov | District of Massachusetts | Exagen Inc. Agrees to Pay $653,143 to Resolve Allegations of Kickback Violations | United States Department of Justice