DOJ Announces Agreement With Rite Aid to Settle Allegations of Violating the FCA and CSA in Relation to Opioid Dispensing - On July 10, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Rite Aid Corporation and 10 of its...more
Whistleblower Watch is a comprehensive source for all False Claims Act (FCA) news and information. Every quarter, Cozen O’Connor will provide in-house counsel and compliance professionals with a summary of the most notable...more
Former Healthcare Executives Convicted for Health Insurance Policy Fraud Scheme - Steven Dorfman, the former chief executive officer and owner of the Florida-based healthcare company Simple Health, and John Sand, a former...more
The following is a summary of selected federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports of fraud and abuse enforcement activity across the country. The enforcement actions reported...more
Designed for busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, this newsletter seeks to bring you up to speed on key federal and state False Claims Act (FCA) developments, with links to primary resources. Each quarter, we...more
There have been several noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) settlements in the second quarter of 2023. Four of these settlements have come in over $20 million. This post summarizes key settlements of interest....more
Corporate compliance programs in the healthcare industry include many of the same elements that we are all familiar with – risk assessments, code of ethics, written policies and procedures, comprehensive training...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Shannon Wiley, with Carine Leslie and Katie Garmon of PYA, P.C., recently discussed the complexities associated with billing, coding, and collecting for infusion services as part of the Infusion...more
Similar to other types of healthcare entities, clinical laboratories have been facing enhanced scrutiny from federal authorities over the past couple of years. While this is due in part to fraud concerns related to COVID-19...more
The Justice Department is continuing to use criminal enforcement as an important tool in the fight against healthcare fraud. While the False Claims Act continues its important place in the fight against healthcare fraud, DOJ...more
Several days ago, Biogen Inc. announced that it had reached a settlement to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit under the False Claims Act (FCA). Relator’s claims were based on allegations that Biogen’s speaker and consultant...more
On April 20, 2022, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced twenty-one (21) defendants were charged in nine (9) different districts related to $149 million in COVID-19-related false billing issues. $8 million in cash and...more
On November 4, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the conviction of several South Florida addiction treatment facility operators following a seven-week trial. ...more
In July of 2021, the Department of Justice announced that it entered into a settlement agreement with two Texas companies, Alliance Parent, Inc. (“Alliance”) and Anchor Holdings LP d/b/a Anchor Capital Partners (“Anchor”),...more
Federal government enforcement in the telemedicine space continues to escalate, with three separate announcements in just the last three weeks regarding criminal and civil telemedicine-related actions. These enforcement...more
A False Claims Act case can easily turn into a criminal prosecution. The Federal Bureau of Investigation often initiates criminal investigations as part of its commitment to reducing health care fraud....more
The owner of Brooklyn Chemists in Gravesend, Brooklyn and Lucky Care Pharmacy in Flushing, Queens was recently indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States by paying...more
In the DOJ’s first-ever criminal action against an electronic health records vendor, San Francisco-based Practice Fusion Inc. agreed to pay $145 million to resolve allegations that it received kickbacks from pharmaceutical...more
On November 26, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $26.67 million settlement with a laboratory testing corporation, Boston Heart Diagnostics Corporation (Boston Heart). The settlement resolves allegations of...more
In one of the largest ever health care fraud schemes charged by the Department of Justice, cancer genetic testing and telemedicine are at the center of the scheme. On September 27, the DOJ announced charges against 35...more
In the wave of physician practice management transactions, urology is poised to be one of the next hot sectors. In addition to the issues to consider in connection with any physician practice transaction, below we discuss...more
• A recent federal jury verdict in Dallas affirms the U.S. Department of Justice's determination to extend federal prosecutions to healthcare arrangements involving commercial payers by utilizing the federal Travel Act, which...more
The Department of Justice recently reported that the healthcare industry accounted for $2.5 billion of the $2.8 billion dollars it recovered in False Claims Act (FCA) cases in Fiscal Year 2018. Qui tam actions (FCA claims...more
The United States healthcare industry poses an infinite number of risks when it comes to interactions with healthcare professionals. Given the aggressive regulation and enforcement of prohibitions against kickbacks and...more
Healthcare Management Associates (HMA) settled criminal and civil charges with the Justice Department for illegal fraud and kickback schemes. HMA billed federal government healthcare programs for inpatient services that...more