In the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, healthcare providers and suppliers will need to make decisions on how to ensure compliance with existing federal fraud and abuse laws while taking swift action to avoid...more
3/23/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Public Health ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Remuneration ,
Waivers
In this installment of the Healthcare Enforcement Quarterly Roundup we cover several topics that have persisted over the past few years and identify new issues that will shape the scope of enforcement efforts in 2020. In this...more
2/7/2020
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Drug Compounding ,
Drug Distribution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare ,
Opioid ,
Overpayment ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmacies ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Settlement Negotiations ,
Stark Law
The final quarter of 2019 brought forward new guidance and proposed rules with major implications for healthcare companies, enforcement developments in healthcare private equity investing and opioid litigation matters, among...more
1/28/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Investors ,
Medical Necessity ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) ,
New Guidance ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Private Equity ,
Proposed Rules ,
Stark Law ,
Webinars
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of Inspector General recently released notices of proposed rulemaking relating to the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. We break down the new proposed...more
12/10/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Health Care Providers ,
OIG ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Proposed Rules ,
Remuneration ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
To help accelerate the transformation of the US healthcare system from a fee-for-service to a value-based system, the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) launched its “Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care”...more
11/13/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Electronic Medical Records ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Incentives ,
Patients ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Reimbursements ,
Safe Harbors ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care ,
Webinars
On October 9, 2019, the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published proposed changes to the physician self-referral law (Stark Law). Physician practices are subject to...more
The Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) proposed changes to the Stark Law, the Anti-Kickback Statute, and the Civil Monetary Penalty Law, released today as part of the Regulatory Sprint to Coordinated Care, would...more
10/11/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Beneficiary Inducement ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Comment Period ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Exceptions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Hospitals ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Safe Harbors ,
Stark Law ,
Value-Based Care
Bingham v. HCA, Inc., a recent Eleventh Circuit case, highlights the centrality of fair market value to Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) analyses. This decision is significant for several reasons and we expect to see Bingham cited...more
9/18/2019
/ Amended Complaints ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Fair Market Value ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Physicians ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Remuneration ,
Rule 9(b) ,
Stark Law
In its first update in a decade and effective January 1, 2020, the revised Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) Code of Ethics in Interactions with Health Care Professionals (Code) in the United States contains...more
On February 6, 2019, the DOJ announced a settlement agreement with Greenway Health, a vendor of EHR software, under which Greenway agreed to pay approximately $57 million to resolve allegations that it caused its health care...more
2/26/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
CEHRT ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Statements ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Information Technologies ,
OIG ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Vendors
This latest installment of the Health Care Enforcement Quarterly Roundup reflects on trends that persisted in 2018 and those emerging trends that will carry us into 2019 and beyond. Leading off with the US Department of...more
1/29/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Corporate Investigations ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Individual Accountability ,
Materiality ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Qui Tam ,
REMS ,
RICO ,
Settlement ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Yates Memorandum
A massive bill intended to address the nation’s opioid crisis is about to become law—the House overwhelmingly voted in favor of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6) on Friday, September 28, 2018, and the...more
In the latest installment of Health Care Enforcement Quarterly Roundup, we examine key enforcement trends in the health care industry that we have observed over the past few months. In this issue, we report on the practical...more
On August 24, 2018, the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a request for information, seeking input from the public on potential new safe harbors to the Anti-Kickback...more
With health care becoming more consumer-driven, health care providers and health plans are wrestling with how to incentivize patients to participate in health promotion programs and treatment plans. As payments are...more
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a final rule regarding its exclusion authorities. The final rule goes into effect March 21, 2017, and expands OIG’s authority to exclude certain individuals and...more
3/3/2017
/ Affirmative Action ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) ,
OIG ,
Permissive Exclusion Authority ,
Reinstatement ,
Safe Harbors ,
Social Security Act
In a burst of rulemaking in December 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, issued two new final rules containing significant changes to OIG’s Civil Monetary Penalty authorities....more
On April 18, 2016, Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson announced the publication of updated guidance on how the Office of Inspector General (OIG) makes decisions about using its permissive exclusion authority and requiring...more
4/29/2016
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Integrity Agreement ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
New Guidance ,
OIG ,
Permissive Exclusion Authority ,
Stark Law
In This Issue:
- Background
- Tuomey’s Second Appeal to the Fourth Circuit
- The Trial Court’s Grant of a New Trial
- Tuomey’s Request for Judgement as a Matter of Law on the Stark Law and FCA...more
7/13/2015
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Appeals ,
Employment Contract ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Hospitals ,
Jury Instructions ,
Medicare ,
New Trial ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Patient Referrals ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law ,
Treble Damages
Over the last month the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have each taken actions that suggest an increasing appetite to examine the financial...more
7/2/2015
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
CMP Law ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud Alerts ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Directors ,
OIG ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law