The US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) revised compliance program document “The Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs,” released June 1, 2020, helps organizations understand how DOJ evaluates compliance programs for...more
On June 1, 2020, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued updates to its “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Program” guidance. This update reflects the agency’s evolving views on compliance program...more
On May 26, 2020 the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published its Oversight of COVID-19 Response and Recovery Strategic Plan, identifying the agency’s four primary objectives...more
As healthcare moves increasingly from fee-for-service model to one focused on outcomes and value-based payments, the traditional fraud and abuse laws, such as the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, pose obstacles to...more
5/28/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Fee-for-Service ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
New Rules ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Policy Statement ,
Proposed Rules ,
Self-Referral ,
Stark Law ,
Telemedicine ,
Value-Based Care ,
Waivers
On April 21, 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued explanatory guidance on the scope and application of a series of nationwide Section 1135 waivers of the physician self-referral law (Stark Law)...more
On April 21, 2020, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a proposed rule that would amend its civil money penalty (CMP) regulations to address a 21st Century Cures Act...more
This On the Subject was updated on April 7, 2020, to address the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) April 3, 2020, Policy Statement and its potential impact as well.
The Centers...more
As the US federal government dedicates trillions of dollars toward containing and treating Coronavirus (COVID-19) and stimulating the national economy, it is also waiving many federal health program requirements to allow...more
The US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General has created an information portal and established a process to provide guidance on the application of the Anti-Kickback Statute and Beneficiary...more
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
Hospitals and health systems are facing consumer demand for innovation, the need to expand and enhance streams of revenue and the push for improved quality, all while navigating changing regulations, federal enforcement,...more
2/6/2020
/ Antitrust Litigation ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CMIA ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hospitals ,
Medicare ,
No-Poaching ,
OCR ,
Popular ,
Ransomware
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
A few days before Thanksgiving, the news media published an internal memo by the Office of General Counsel (OGC) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (Department) to officials at the Centers for Medicare and...more
12/6/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Azar v Allina Health Services ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Local Coverage Determination (LCD) ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part C ,
New Guidance ,
Notice and Comment ,
OGC ,
Overpayment ,
Provider Payments ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Security Act
The US Sentencing Guidelines permit reductions of criminal penalties based on a business organization’s inability to pay criminal fines, but were unclear about how it would make such determinations. An October 8 memorandum...more
12/3/2019
/ Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Criminal Fines ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Failure To Pay ,
Federal Sentencing Guidelines ,
Memorandum of Guidance ,
Penalty Reductions ,
White Collar Crimes
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
The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit endorsed two controversial interpretations of the Stark Law’s “volume or value” standard, known as the correlation theory and the practice “loss” theory in U.S. ex rel. J. William...more
10/3/2019
/ Appeals ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Hospitals ,
Medical Centers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Patient Referrals ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Pleading Standards ,
Relators ,
Reversal ,
Rule 9(b) ,
Stark Law ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Statutory Violations
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 this second installment of the Healthcare Enforcement Quarterly Roundup for 2019, we cover several topics that have persisted over the past few years and identify new issues that will shape the scope of enforcement efforts...more
8/16/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Mergers ,
New Guidance ,
New Rules ,
OCR ,
OIG ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry
Frequent regulatory and policy changes, increasing government scrutiny and private whistleblower activity pose greater risks to health care organizations more than ever before. McDermott’s Q2 Health Care Enforcement Roundup...more
7/30/2019
/ Compliance ,
Continuing Legal Education ,
Cooperation ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Health Care Providers ,
Home Health Agencies ,
Home Health Care ,
Hospitals ,
Opioid ,
Opt-Outs ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Telemedicine ,
Webinars ,
Whistleblowers
FCPA UPDATES FOR GLOBAL COMPANIES -
In recent months, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued important guidance for global companies on corporate compliance programs and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)...more
7/2/2019
/ CFIUS ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Corporate Fines ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Data Protection ,
Data Protection Authority ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Google ,
National Security ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements
DOJ recently announced the release of formal guidance on how civil attorneys can award “cooperation credit” to defendants who cooperate with DOJ during a False Claims Act investigation. This formal policy provides some new...more
6/21/2019
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Cooperation ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Defense Strategies ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Good Faith ,
Government Investigations ,
New Guidance ,
Scienter ,
Self-Disclosure Requirements