On July 10, 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a proposed rule (“Proposed Rule”) in which it outlined proposed amendments to the suspension provisions and deadlines for reporting and returning...more
On June 1, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that the scienter element of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) is met if a defendant subjectively knew his or her claims were false and submitted them anyway....more
6/5/2023
/ Drug Pricing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Oral Argument ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qui Tam ,
Scienter ,
SCOTUS ,
US ex rel Thomas Proctor v Safeway Inc ,
US ex rel Tracy Schutte et al v SuperValu Inc et al
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) has issued a proposed rule which would amend the existing regulations for reporting and returning identified overpayments (the “Proposed Rule”). Specifically, with...more
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals recently tossed a $5.5 million jury verdict finding that a physician violated the False Claims Act (“FCA”) by submitting claims for items and services ordered subsequent to a violation of...more
The “Granston Memo” has proven to be a boon again in 2019 for False Claims Act (“FCA”) defendants. In a January 15, 2019 Sheppard Mullin FCA Defense Blog article, we highlighted a growing movement by the Department of Justice...more
12/5/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Appeals ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Mortgage Fraud ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Shell Corporations ,
The Granston Memo
In a highly anticipated opinion in the AseraCare case, issued on September 9, 2019, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s holding that “a clinical judgment of terminal illness warranting hospice...more
9/12/2019
/ Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospice ,
Medical Necessity ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Physicians ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Remand ,
Sua Sponte
On July 31, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant summary judgment to hospital operator HCA and dismiss relator Thomas Bingham’s allegations. Bingham v. HCA (S.D....more
8/19/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Discovery ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Motion To Strike ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Relators ,
Rule 9(b) ,
Stark Law
Federal prosecutors announced yesterday the Government’s settlement with electronic health records (“EHR”) vendor Greenway Health, LLC (“Greenway”) of False Claims Act (“FCA”) allegations for a payment of $57.25 million and...more
In a key case being watched by the industry, Judge Collyer of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an opinion today granting UnitedHealthcare’s Motion for Summary Judgment in UnitedHealthcare...more
The DOJ is empowered under the FCA to seek dismissal of unmeritorious qui tam suits brought in its name. The DOJ has historically used this power sparingly. We are happy to report, however, that more dismissals may be on the...more
On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court issued its opinion (“Op.”) in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar (“Escobar”), a case testing the viability and scope of the implied certification theory of False Claims Act...more
6/20/2016
/ Conditions of Payment ,
Failure To Disclose ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Implied Certification Theory ,
Federal Pleading Requirements ,
Fraud ,
Implied Certification ,
Material Misrepresentation ,
Materiality ,
Mental Health ,
SCOTUS ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Unlicensed Medical Providers