Ex Rel. Radio - Prevention Is Priceless: FCA Protection in the Healthcare Industry
False Claims Act: Implied Certification Theory
Late last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its complaint-in-intervention in a qui tam lawsuit against the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), alleging that the university failed to meet certain...more
The Supreme Court’s 2016 decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar resolved a Circuit split regarding the implied certification theory as a basis for False Claims Act (FCA) liability. While...more
In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar confirming the viability of the implied false certification theory in False Claims Act (FCA) cases and...more
The pace of False Claims Act (FCA) litigation remained furious over the past year. Companies (and individuals) in all sectors of the economy continue to face the ever-present threat of FCA enforcement whenever they do...more
On August 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in U.S. ex rel. Scott Rose, et al., v. Stephens Inst., dba Acad. of Art Univ., affirmed the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California’s order...more
A United States District Court (Eastern District-Pennsylvania) (“Court”) addressed a qui tam action filed by Gary Cressman (“Cressman”) under the federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) in connection with an alleged environmental...more
The Situation: The False Claims Act imposes civil liability on any person or entity that "knowingly presents, or causes to be presented" to the U.S. government "a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval." The...more
Until very recently, no case existed in which FCA liability arose from a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”). But in United States v. America at Home Healthcare and Nursing Services,...more
There is a renewed focus on the government’s activities for purposes of the False Claims Act (FCA) materiality analysis and as demonstrated by a number of recently issued decisions, the roster of relevant government actors is...more
Last year, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decided Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar (Escobar), 136 S.Ct. 1989 (2016), creating important implications for Federal False Claims Act (FCA) cases...more
On June 16, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the matter of Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016), changing the legal landscape for False Claims Act qui tam claims...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in the closely watched case of Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, decided on June 16, 2016, provides a long-awaited interpretation of the False Claims Act (“FCA”)...more
In a recent and highly anticipated opinion that will significantly affect healthcare providers and other government contractors, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the “implied false certification theory” is a...more
On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar upholding the “implied certification” theory of liability under the False Claims Act (“FCA”)...more
Health care providers beware – the United States Supreme Court may have just equipped federal authorities with another tool for pursuing false or fraudulent claims billed to Medicare or Medicaid under the False Claims Act...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on June 16, 2016, in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, No. 15-7, a case the government contractor and health care communities hoped the Court would use to...more
The False Claims Act (FCA) is the federal government’s chief weapon to combat false or fraudulent claims made to the government and has resulted in billions of dollars of recoveries. In recent years, broad interpretation of...more
The Supreme Court has handed the Department of Justice and qui tam relators a bigger hammer to wield against government contractors with its opinion in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar,...more
On June 16, 2016, a unanimous Supreme Court blessed the implied false certification theory of False Claims Act (FCA) liability, resolving a circuit split on the theory’s legitimacy. The Court held that implied certification...more
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court decided Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar et al., holding that the so-called “implied certification” theory is viable under the False Claims Act...more
On April 19, 2016, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument on the viability and breadth of the “implied certification” theory of the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The implied certification theory supports FCA...more
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to resolve a circuit split over the False Claims Act (FCA) that could have broad implications for those that do business with the federal government. On April 19, 2016, the Supreme Court...more
This year continued the trend of aggressive False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and high volumes of qui tam lawsuits brought by whistleblowers. In fiscal year 2015, the DOJ marked the fourth...more
Supreme Court grants certiorari in qui tam case to consider viability and scope of the “implied certification” theory of liability under the False Claims Act. On December 4, the US Supreme Court granted certiorari in...more
The U.S. courts of appeals disagree along two, perhaps three, lines over both the scope and validity of the doctrine of implied false certification under the False Claims Act. These divergences mean that motion practice and...more