AG Beshear accuses medical company of Medicaid fraud

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WTVQ/AP) – Attorney General Andy Beshear is accusing a medical company of Medicaid fraud for allegedly promoting a kidney dialysis product it knew was harmful to patients.

Beshear said Thursday his lawsuit seeks damages and civil penalties from Fresenius Medical Care Holdings Inc. His suit, filed in Franklin County Circuit Court, says Fresenius is the nation’s largest provider of kidney dialysis and renal care products, treatment and services.

Beshear says the company put patients at risk with use of its GranuFlo product, which was used in screening blood to remove impurities during dialysis. He says the company concealed the product’s risks of causing heart attacks, strokes or arrhythmia.

“It’s abundantly clear that, for several years, Fresenius withheld critical GranuFlo-related information from its own clinical staff and from the clinical staff of its customers, many of them right here in Kentucky,” Beshear said. “Had the company been ethical and not profit-hungry, many of the heart attacks or deaths could have been prevented.”

He says the federal government issued a 2012 recall for the product.

A legal spokesperson for Fresenius sent WTVQ the following statement:

“Granuflo and Naturalyte acid concentrates continue today to be market leaders, as they have been for many years.
The FDA has never suggested that either product should be withdrawn from the market, that the product compositions should be changed in any way, or that the products are unsafe when used as directed and prescribed.”

Beshear said individuals who were treated with GranuFlo should seek class action lawsuits or a private attorney. Health care professionals and patients are encouraged to digitally report adverse events or side effects related to GranuFlo to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program or call 800-332-1088.

Any civil penalties from Kentucky’s lawsuit would be returned to the state and its Medicaid program, according to Beshear.