Justice Department Sues for Breast Implant Funds
Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 20:58:59 -0700
From: ilena rose
ilena@san.rr.com~~~ very bad news just posted on alt.support.breast-implant ~~~
US Sues for Breast Implant Funds
.c The Associated Press
By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department sued on Friday to recover millions of dollars spent through federal health care plans to treat silicone breast implant injuries. It asked that the money come out of a settlement fund for the thousands of women who were victims.
The government asked the court to halt settlement payments to victims who used Medicare or other federally funded health care programs until the federal government gets reimbursed for its costs.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., the government named as defendants six companies and the administrator of the settlement fund those companies established to compensate women injured by the implants.
As of last April, 81,000 women had been sent payments from the settlement fund. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned most use of silicone gel-filled breast implants in 1992.
Friday's lawsuit argues that the six companies and the settlement fund are liable for reimbursing Medicare and the other federal health care programs for costs incurred treating implant injuries.
The lawsuit did not put an exact figure on how much the government is seeking, but a Justice Department statement said it was in the millions of dollars.
The Medical Care Recovery Act permits the government to recover the cost of providing medical care to people injured as a result of the wrongful acts of a third party, the department said.
The government ``demands payments from the MDL (multi-district litigation) settlement fund of its reasonable costs or providing to or paying for hospital, medical, surgical or dental care on behalf of claimants who were, or will be paid through the MDL settlement fund and-or the common benefit fund for injuries alleged to be caused by a breast implant,'' the lawsuit said.
Justice spokesman Charles Miller said the lawsuit took this form because negotiations to recover the money from the implant manufacturers had been unsuccessful after several years of talks.
The government said the class action settlement provided injured women with $3,000 for surgery to remove the implants and additional payments for those with diseases or injuries allegedly caused by the implants.
Of the women who have received payments, from the fund, 17,000 got $3,000 for removal surgery, the lawsuit said. Another 26,000 women also received payment for a breast implant-related disease and another 10,000 received a one-time $2,500 payment to waive all future claims.
As of last May, 52,118 implant recipients had refused to join the class action, preserving their right to press their claims individually, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said the companies and the settlement fund administrator failed to determine whether any of the women making claims had been Medicare beneficiaries before sending them payments from the settlement fund. It said the defendants had not paid the government on behalf of any Medicare-treated women who obtained settlement payments.
The companies named in the lawsuit were Baxter International Inc.. Baxter Healthcare Corp., Bristol-Meyers-Squibb Co., 3M Co., Union Carbide Chemical and Plastics Co., and Union Carbide Corp. Edgar C. Gentile III was named in his capacity as escrow agent of the settlement fund.
AP-NY-03-31-00 1933EST
Baxter Intl, Others Sued by US Over Breast Implant Claims
Washington, March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Baxter International Inc., the world's No. 2 medical-products maker, and other companies are being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice, which seeks to recover money spent treating breast-implant injuries.
The suit, filed today in a federal court in Birmingham, Alabama, also names Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. and the Union Carbide Corp., the Justice Department said.
The lawsuit was filed after the breakdown of several years of negotiations with implant manufacturers, the Justice Department said in a statement. The action is based on the Medicare Secondary Payer laws, which ensure that Medicare is reimbursed when it pays for treatment that should have been paid for by a third party, the Justice Department said.
``The government believes it is owed millions of dollars,'' the department said.
Baxter International spokeswoman Deborah Spak said the company had no comment because it had not seen a copy of the suit.
Shares of Baxter International, based in Deerfield, Illinois, rose 1 3/16 to 62 11/16.
Mar/31/2000 19:09