US Bioservices Corp., a unit of AmerisourceBergen, paid $13.4 million to settle U.S. government claims that it pushed patients to refill prescriptions of Novartis AG’s iron overload drug Exjade in exchange for referrals and other benefits from Novartis, in violation of the False Claims Act. The government alleged that, from August 2010 to March 2012, federal and state Medicare and Medicaid programs were illegally billed for Exjade prescriptions stemming from US Bioservices encouraging patients to refill prescriptions by having its nurses call them with “one-sided advice,” emphasizing the dangers of not treating iron overload and downplaying Exjade’s side effects, and also by assigning a group of patient care coordinators to call Exjade patients and encourage them to order refills. US Bioservices agreed to pay $10.6 million to the federal government and $2.8 million to states. The government previously settled with the other participants in this kickback scheme, Novartis and Accredo Health Group.