Alere Accused of Running Urine-Testing Fraud Schemes

Abbott Laboratories purchased a fraud lawsuit when it acquired diagnostic testing company Alere Inc. on Oct. 3 for $8.3 billion, according to a recently unsealed lawsuit (United States ex rel. Nolan v. Alere, Inc., M.D. Fla., No. 15-cv-404, unsealed 10/5/17).

Two former Alere employees accused the company of running several schemes designed to boost Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE (military health) reimbursements for urine drug screening tests. The whistle-blowers—former vice president Michael Nolan and former regional sales director Jacob Whitfield—said Alere and its subsidiary Avee pushed physicians to bill for medically unnecessary confirmation drug tests and overly broad ...