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United Therapeutics to pay $210M to resolve kickback allegations

United Therapeutics Corp. reached a $210 million settlement with the U.S. government to resolve claims that the company violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to Medicare patients using a charity as a conduit.

In the second quarter, the company recorded a $210 million accrual related to the investigation.

The settlement is related to donations that the company made to a Virginia-based foundation, Caring Voice Coalition, Reuters reported.

The government alleged that from February 2010 through January 2014, the drugmaker obtained data from the charity detailing how many patients on each pulmonary arterial hypertension drug received assistance and how much the foundation spent on those patients.

United Therapeutics allegedly used this data to decide the amount to donate to the foundation. It allegedly had a policy of not allowing Medicare patients to participate in its free drug program, even if those patients could not afford their co-pays for the drugs.

In order to generate revenue from Medicare and to induce purchases of its drugs, the company allegedly referred Medicare patients prescribed its drugs to the foundation, resulting in claims to Medicare to cover the cost of those drugs.

Acting U.S. Attorney William Weinreb said the company used a third party to do "exactly what it knew it could not lawfully do itself."

The drugmaker has also signed a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. The five-year agreement requires, among other things, that the company implement measures designed to ensure that arrangements and interactions with third-party patient assistance programs are compliant with the law.

Caring Voice Coalition did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for a comment. The charity has stated that it is evaluating options and will announce a decision regarding its future in January 2018, the news outlet reported.