Hooper, Kearney and Macklin on Cutting Edge Topics in the False Claims Act
The health care regulatory space realized significant regulatory and enforcement developments in 2024 that are influencing how providers and industry stakeholders approach various compliance measures and enforcement...more
As government scrutiny and enforcement targeting the Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) program continued in 2024, the industry’s response to agency actions escalated. Last year also resulted in the first sizable Part D...more
The 60-day Refund Rule, created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act, requires providers to report and return Medicare and Medicaid overpayments within 60 days of identifying them. See Section 1128J(d) of the Social Security Act,...more
On February 22, 2024, DOJ issued a press release regarding its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 statistics regarding settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act (FCA). Notably, FY 2023 represents the highest number of...more
2023 was another record year for False Claims Act enforcement. On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the federal government and whistleblowers were party to a record number of FCA...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a rare criminal indictment involving the Medicare Advantage program—a contrast from DOJ’s more typical use of its civil enforcement authority to pursue similar issues...more
As if corporate healthcare businesses needed an enforcement reminder, DOJ recently announced a settlement with Cigna Group for $172 million to resolve claims that Cigna exaggerated patient illnesses to extract more money from...more
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $22.4 million settlement resolving allegations that Martin’s Point Health Care, Inc. (Martin’s Point) violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting inaccurate...more
On April 5, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released the 2024 Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Benefit Programs Final Rule (“Final Rule”), which will be codified at 42 C.F.R. Parts 417, 422, 423,...more
On Friday, March 31, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Advantage (MA) Capitation Rates and Part C and Part D Payment Policies (Rate Announcement). This Rate...more
Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) remained a top enforcement priority in 2022, and Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) are the subject of intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice (DOJ); the Office of Inspector...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a rule late last year to harmonize the standard it would apply for providers to identify and refund overpayments with the “knowledge” standard under the False Claims...more
On December 27, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule which, in part, seeks to amend the existing regulations for Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D regarding the standard for when an...more
In a decision issued on September 30, Judge Andrew Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Anthem Inc.’s motion to dismiss a government lawsuit filed in March 2020 claiming Anthem...more
In this episode, Stephen Bittinger and Nathan Huff discuss the growth of Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage), new enforcements for Medicare Advantage Organization fraud, recent cases of False Claims Act liability, and key...more
Over the past year, the federal government has taken concrete steps to fulfill its promise of a heightened commitment to investigating and enforcing health care fraud within the Medicare Advantage program (Medicare Part C). ...more
While the pandemic put many things on hold, it did not do the same for the False Claims Act (FCA). To find out what is happening in FCA activity we spoke with Patrick Hooper, Jordan Kearney and Alicia Macklin, partners at the...more
The Situation: The U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") published its annual report regarding False Claims Act ("FCA") recoveries for fiscal year 2020 (ending September 2020) and announced its priorities for 2021. The...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed suit against Anthem, Inc. (Anthem) alleging that the Medicare Advantage Organization (MAO) violated the False Claims Act (FCA) when it knowingly failed to delete inaccurate...more
On October 31, 2019, the Office of General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued an important memo from Kelly M. Cleary, CMS Chief Legal Officer, and Brenna E. Jenny, Deputy General...more
Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs) have been hailing a federal judge’s recent ruling to vacate the 2014 Overpayment Rule. But, how did we get here? And what does it really mean for MAOs? ...The Medicare Advantage...more
In Kane ex rel. U.S. v. Healthfirst, Inc., the federal district court for the Southern District of New York (District Court or Court) provided on August 3 the first and long-awaited interpretation as to when a health care...more