Company: WW
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-029511
Chunk: 117

Company: WW INTERNATIONAL, INC.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 117
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 could result in increased costs, recalls, increased cancelations of member subscriptions, decreased interest from potential members or other adverse impacts or additional risks.

We may be subject to extensive fraud, waste, and abuse laws that may give rise to federal and state audits and investigations, including actions for false and other improper claims.

The U.S. healthcare industry is heavily regulated and closely scrutinized by federal, state and local governments. Comprehensive statutes and regulations govern our contractual relationships and arrangements with healthcare professionals, health plans and vendors, our marketing activities, and other aspects of our operations and the operations of PCs and vendors. Such laws include, without limitation, federal and state anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, and false claims laws, and may authorize the imposition of criminal, civil and administrative penalties for submitting false or fraudulent claims for reimbursement to federal and state healthcare programs.

The federal anti-kickback statute (the “Anti-Kickback Statute”) makes it a criminal offense to knowingly and willingly offer, pay, solicit or receive any remuneration to induce or reward referrals of items, including prescription medications, or services reimbursable by federal healthcare programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute defines “remuneration” to include the transfer of anything of value, in cash or in kind and directly or indirectly. The statute has been interpreted to cover any arrangement where at least one purpose of the arrangement is to obtain remuneration for the referral of services or to induce the purchase, lease, order, recommendation or arrangement of items or services reimbursable under a federal healthcare program. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. Many states have similar anti-kickback and consumer protection laws, and in some cases these laws have expanded to apply to commercial insurers. If any governmental, judicial, law enforcement or regulatory authority determines that we are not in compliance with any such laws, any such authority could bring an action against us and/or our supported offices for violations of such laws, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

The Federal Civil False Claims Act (the “FCA”) prohibits the knowing submission of any false or fraudulent claim for payment to the federal government or to its agents or contractors or any recipient if the federal government provides any payment for the claim. The FCA also prohibits knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false claims to government health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.