Lawsuit accusing Abbott MitraClip of kickbacks will proceed

A federal judge ruled that a lawsuit accusing Abbott Laboratories of using cash, meals, marketing and patient referrals to encourage doctors to implant its MitraClip heart device can proceed to trial. The Department of Justice and more than two dozen states allege the scheme generated thousands of false claims to government healthcare programs under the Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act.

U.S. District Judge Todd Robinson found that training events serving modest meals likely did not violate the law, but that a jury could reasonably conclude events at expensive hotels with 'fancy' restaurant dinners were of questionable educational value. He also rejected Abbott's bids to exclude testimony from the plaintiffs' damages expert and a cardiac surgeon, though the surgeon has never used the MitraClip himself.

The judge did grant Abbott summary judgment on the Florida and California claims specifically, finding insufficient evidence tying those states' Medicaid claims to the alleged kickback events. The broader case, first brought by a whistleblower in 2020, will still go to trial.

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