Montana to Receive Over $15,000 After Whistleblower Lawsuit Settlement

The Montana Attorney General's office is announcing a successful settlement in a multi-state, whistleblower lawsuit against the medical equipment company CareFusion. 

"As a result, Montana will receive a little over 15 thousand dollars and those funds will go to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services which administers the Medicaid program," said Montana Department of Justice spokeswoman Anastasia Burton. "The monies that are recovered will be used for the Medicaid program here in Montana."

The settlement is over the alleged false marketing of a particular product.

"Chloraprep was approved by the FDA for certain inpatient hospital procedures, like  prepping of a patient’s skin before surgery or injection, but what happened was that the FDA had rejected its use for iv prep and suture care," said Burton. "CareFusion was alleged to have marketed Chloraprep for those off-label uses."

CareFusion ended up paying out over 40 million dollars to various states and the federal government.

“Whistleblower settlements like this are important because they seek to hold companies accountable for their allegedly improper conduct while also distributing funds back to public programming,” said Attorney General Tim Fox. “These types of lawsuits are an important tool in the ongoing fight against health care fraud and abuse, and I’m pleased that Montana will receive a share of the CareFusion settlement.”