In January, a federal jury in the Northern District of Illinois convicted Mark Sorenson, owner of durable medical equipment (DME) pharmacy Symed Inc., for participating in a conspiracy to obtain $24.8 million in illegal...more
As discussed in a prior blog post, in May of this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ), through its Fraud Section and in conjunction with the Center for Program Integrity, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CPI/CMS),...more
Last week, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of the National Rapid Response Strike Force (“NRR Strike Force”) within the DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit. The announcement was made in...more
It’s Time to Review Your Compliance, Data and Auditing Plans - As we near the end of 2018, healthcare providers and companies are understandably focused on 2019 and the trends ahead. In planning for next year, however,...more
In an effort to combat Medicare fraud and its contribution to the opioid crisis, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of New Jersey and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania,...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the creation of a Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud. Relevant to the contracting and healthcare community, the task force is designed to strengthen the...more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its largest ever national health care fraud takedown, resulting in charges against 601 diverse defendants including...more
The OIG added three items to its Work Plan with the February 2018 update, as listed in the chart below. Two of the items concern annual reports, one addressing the performance of Medicaid Fraud Control Units and the other...more
Uncertainty and pressures continue to mount for healthcare providers, creating a new operating environment – Uncertainty around Medicaid and other programs, the shift to value-based care, margin pressures, the need to search...more
The Medicare Fraud Strike Force initiated its largest ever healthcare enforcement action, charging 412 defendants in July 2017 with approximately $1.3 billion in fraudulent claims. The Strike Force consists of teams that...more
On Thursday, July 20, 2017, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Joel R. Levin, announced his office is increasing its attention on healthcare through a new Health Care Fraud Unit focused on prosecuting...more
On July 13, 2017, the Department of Justice ("DOJ"), in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), continued its annual tradition of coordinating the filing of charges and sweeping arrests in...more
Continuing its annual tradition, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced last week the largest ever health care fraud enforcement action by the Medicare...more
Two recent announcements reflect that the U.S. Government is taking aggressive steps to address opioid abuse by identifying and targeting the involvement of medical professionals in facilitating opioid abuse involving Federal...more
The US Department of Justice announced that Khaled Elbeblaswy, the former owner and manager three Miami-area home health agencies, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $36.4 million in restitution for his...more
On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, the DOJ announced the largest nationwide heath care fraud takedown in history, which resulted in criminal and civil charges against 301 individuals for alleged participation in health care fraud...more
2015 was a year of transition for the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), with the installation of a new Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and several other high-level officials. In January 2015, Andrew Weissmann...more
On November 17, 2015, a group of Skadden attorneys and corporate counsel joined representatives from more than 20 life sciences companies to discuss U.S. enforcement issues companies throughout the industry face. The key...more
Federal prosecutors have turned their attention to physicians for Medicare fraud prosecution. Physicians who participate in the Medicare program have to be aware of the significant risks of Medicare fraud....more
Earlier today, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the largest coordinated crackdown in the Medicare Fraud Strike Force’s eight-year history. The government brought charges against 243 individuals for approximately $712...more