On 7 February 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) publicly reported the statistics for federal civil fraud recoveries in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. While the DOJ emphasized in its accompanying press release that “the...more
In a significant departure from the general downward trend in False Claims Act (FCA) civil fraud recoveries over the past half-decade —and as predicted last year —recoveries in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 drastically increased...more
False Claims Act (FCA) civil fraud recoveries in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 dropped over US$850 million when compared to those in FY 2019. While the more than US$2.2 billion in recoveries in FY 2020 continued a general downward...more
This edition of Qui Tam Quarterly focuses on:
- the history of big data in health care FCA investigations and litigation;
- how the government has increased its ability to gather health care claims data and use it to...more
In response to the economic crisis caused by the spread of COVID-19, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) on March 27, 2020, which President Donald J. Trump subsequently signed...more
In 2019, the False Claims Act (“FCA”) remained the federal government’s (“Government”) primary method of civil fraud enforcement. While the more than $3 billion in civil fraud recoveries in Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2019 resulted...more
New frontiers are emerging in health care as burgeoning technologies merge with health care’s ever-evolving landscape. While these new frontiers provide seemingly endless possibilities and opportunities for improving the...more
In 2018, the False Claims Act (“FCA”) continued to be one of the federal government’s (“Government”) preferred civil fraud enforcement tools across a variety of industries. The healthcare industry, however, remained the...more
In Part 3 of our series on health care investigations, Mark Rush and John Lawrence discuss the process for external investigations conducted by federal and state governmental agencies, including in the context of qui tam...more
11/27/2018
/ Civil Investigation Demand ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Rights ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Frivolous Lawsuits ,
Government Agencies ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Internal Investigations ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Qui Tam ,
Search & Seizure ,
Search Warrant ,
Subpoenas ,
Whistleblowers
In this episode, Mark Rush and John Lawrence discuss the federal government’s expectations related to health care organizations conducting internal investigations and demonstrating a commitment to compliance. The episode also...more
10/30/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Liability ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Internal Investigations ,
OIG ,
Qui Tam ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Stark Law
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its largest ever national health care fraud takedown, resulting in charges against 601 diverse defendants including...more
7/19/2018
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bribery ,
Corruption ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug Distribution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FBI ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Fraud Strike Force ,
OIG ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
State Attorneys General ,
TRICARE
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the creation of the Prescription Interdiction & Litigation (“PIL”) Task Force –– which Sessions described as a “new front in the war on the opioid crisis” –– in a February press...more
A recently leaked U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) memorandum asks government attorneys to consider seeking the outright dismissal of “meritless” qui tam actions filed under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The eight-page...more
A split now exists among the circuit courts as to whether a defendant’s assertion of a “reasonable interpretation defense” precludes a finding of a “knowing” mens rea under the False Claims Act (the “FCA”). On May 26, 2017,...more
In False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases, the Department of Justice and, where the government has declined to intervene, qui tam plaintiffs, routinely pursue aggressive damages theories. In its recent decision in U.S. ex rel. Wall...more
On October 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a civil settlement agreement (the “Settlement”) with Extendicare Heath Services, Inc. and its subsidiary Progress Step Corporation (collectively,...more
10/23/2014
/ Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medical Malpractice ,
Medical Reimbursement ,
Medicare ,
Non-Judicial Settlement Agreements ,
OIG ,
Skilled-Care Providers ,
Standard of Care ,
Worthless Services Claims
In a pending False Claims Act (“FCA”) case involving allegations of noncompliance with the federal physician self-referral law (the “Stark Law”), 42 U.S.C. § 1395nn, the United States District Court for the Middle District of...more