Government enforcement activities focused on tele-fraudsters remained active in 2023, but did not break substantial new ground. Several significant criminal resolutions last year involved allegations that were similar to each...more
For the last few years, we have been closely monitoring and reporting on COVID-19 related fraud enforcement efforts by federal agencies. We detailed those findings in our Health Care Enforcement 2020 Year in Review & 2021...more
4/29/2022
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Department of the Interior ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Authority ,
FBI ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medical Billing Codes ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Provider Relief Fund ,
Telemedicine ,
USPS
STATISTICAL TRENDS IN FALSE CLAIMS ACT LITIGATION -
FCA case activity for 2021 reveals seemingly contrary trends. For the federal fiscal year (FY) that ended September 30, 2021, the DOJ annual report on FCA enforcement...more
2/11/2022
/ Clinical Trials ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medical Devices ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Nursing Homes ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Qui Tam ,
Telehealth
As our readers know, we have long been closely watching False Claims Act (FCA) cases across the country alleging the submission of false claims based on the lack of medical necessity, particularly as a possible circuit split...more
WHAT’S INSIDE -
Who Decides How Bankruptcy Laws Are Applied?
PROMESA: An Experiment Doomed to Fail -
The Role of Alter Ego in Restructuring -
SPECIAL FRAUD SECTION -
Don’t Depend on a Handshake -
Health...more
4/25/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators
As many of our readers know, we have been closely following the Polukoff False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case, which is based on allegations that certain heart procedures performed by a cardiologist were not medically...more
2/8/2019
/ Appointments Clause ,
Article II ,
Denial of Rehearing ,
Failure to Comply ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Split of Authority ,
Whistleblowers
In a three-sentence order issued on October 29th, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to grant a Request for Rehearing in the closely watched Polukoff case. One of the questions raised in the Request was whether, by...more
The all-too-common story of a healthcare company declaring bankruptcy in the face of aggressive Medicare recoupment actions before the company even has a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) may get a new ending –...more
As we predicted in our year-end post on civil and criminal enforcement trends, 2018 is already off to strong start in opioid-related enforcement against individual providers and associated practices. Earlier this month, the...more
2/20/2018
/ Controlled Substances Act ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians
Last month, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah joined the AseraCare court and others in finding that a relator cannot successfully allege violations of the False Claims Act (“FCA”) based on a purported lack of...more
Much like the rest of the health care world, we have been following the AseraCare case since May of last year when the Alabama federal district court granted AseraCare’s motion to bifurcate its False Claims Act (FCA) trial...more
Last week, a jury in Alabama federal court sided with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and qui tam relators in the first part of a False Claims Act (FCA) case against AseraCare Inc., a provider of hospice and palliative care...more
10/21/2015
/ Bifurcation ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Hospice ,
Jury Trial ,
Medicare ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Statistical Sampling ,
Treble Damages
Trends & Analysis -
Since our last Qui Tam Update, we have identified 39 health-related False Claims Act (“FCA”) qui tam cases that have been unsealed. Of those cases...more
9/22/2015
/ ACOs ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Controlled Substances ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Falsified Documents ,
Former Employee ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Internal Controls ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Shared Savings Program ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement ,
State False Claims Acts ,
Stipulations ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
TRICARE ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Last week, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services published Advisory Opinion 15-10 (Opinion). The Opinion addressed a hospital system’s proposal to lease non-clinician employees...more
8/4/2015
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Leased Employees ,
Management Agreements ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Patient Referrals
On Thursday April 16th, President Obama signed into law the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (“MACRA”). Pub.L. 114-10. In two previous posts, we discussed MACRA’s repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate...more
Despite the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to combat fraud and contain costs in federal healthcare programs, Medicare’s fee-for-service program (Parts A and B) and Medicaid were two of the top...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that ev3 Inc. (which acquired Fox Hollow Technologies, Inc. (“Fox Hollow”), a medical device manufacturer, in late 2007) agreed to pay $1.25 million to resolve allegations...more
This week a federal district court in Ohio ruled in favor of Mobilex USA (Mobilex), the country’s largest mobile medical imaging company, on a motion for summary judgment in a False Claims Act (FCA) suit filed by a former...more
This past Friday, hospital company HCA Holdings, Inc. asked a federal court judge to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) suit filed by whistleblower and former employee, Stephen McMullen. Mr. McMullen worked for an...more
Trends and Analysis:
..We have identified 20 health care-related qui tam cases unsealed in July 2013. About a quarter of those were filed in 2013.
..Among the cases unsealed in July, the government has declined to...more
8/20/2013
/ Amgen ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Retaliation ,
Sealed Records ,
Stark Law ,
TRICARE ,
Whistleblowers
Last year was another busy year in health care fraud enforcement. In 2012, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-OIG) reported total expected recoveries of $6.9 billion from all...more
2/26/2013
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Durable Medical Equipment ,
Enforcement ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Fraud ,
Healthcare ,
Home Health Care ,
Medicare ,
Off-Label Promotion ,
OIG ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Whistleblowers