False Claims Act Insights - Physician, Refer Thyself: How Stark Law and FCA Intersect
2022 Resolutions: What Healthcare Practices Need To Tackle In the New Year
Goran Musinovic on Healthcare Real Estate Compliance
Podcast: CMS and OIG Final Rules for Innovating Your Value-Based Payment Program - Diagnosing Health Care
Compliance Perspectives: Changes to the Physician Self-Referral and Anti-Kickback Rules
Anti Kickback and Stark Law Enforcement and Compliance Issues
On September 18, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with Dunes Surgical Hospital and United Surgical Partners International, Inc. (USPI), an entity holding a partial ownership interest in Dunes, in...more
Walgreens Settles for $106.8 Million Over FCA Violations - On September 13, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Walgreen Co. (collectively, Walgreens) agreed to pay $106.8...more
On August 26, 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Montana filed a False Claims Act (FCA) complaint against a Montana oncologist, alleging that the oncologist’s busy schedule led to excessive claims...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently filed a complaint against Erlanger Health System (Erlanger), a county-owned public health system, and two of its Tennessee hospitals alleging that the health system systemically...more
Although most health care lawyers and compliance officers who review and analyze physician compensation understand that fair market value (FMV) is important, the nuances around FMV are sometimes missed....more
Precision Lens Pays $12 Million to Resolve FCA and AKS Violations - Late last week, Precision Lens and the estate of its former principal agreed to pay $12 million to resolve allegations regarding violations of the False...more
Over the last decade, private equity firms have acquired healthcare companies, hospitals, and clinics at an increasing rate. In fact, in those ten years, private equity firms have spent roughly $1 trillion on an estimated...more
Welcome to the Summer 2024 issue of “FCA Enforcement & Compliance Digest,” our quarterly newsletter in which we compile essential updates on False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement trends, litigation, agency guidance, and...more
In February 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the results of its 2023 False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement efforts. Through those efforts, it obtained more than $2.6 billion in overall recoveries, and of that...more
In early May 2024, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) agreed to pay $38 million to resolve a False Claims Act case based on alleged Stark Law violations. The size of the settlement in United States ex rel. J....more
Florida Lab Owner Agrees to Pay Over $27 Million to Resolve Three Whistleblower Lawsuits - Daniel Hurt, the prior owner and operator of Fountain Health Services LLC, Verify Health, Landmark Diagnostics LLC, First Choice...more
Americans spend more than $3 trillion per-year on healthcare-related expenses. Of that, the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association estimates that between $60-250 billion is lost to fraud every year....more
Despite the recent downward trend in DOJ healthcare industry settlements, the first quarter of 2024 saw many noteworthy False Claims Act (FCA) and civil healthcare fraud settlements related to alleged kickbacks, medically...more
Introduction - Polsinelli proudly introduces the Health Care Fraud and Abuse 2023 Year in Review, a comprehensive examination of the evolving landscape surrounding the False Claims Act (“FCA”) and fraud & abuse enforcement...more
In February 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the results of its 2023 False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement efforts. Through those efforts, the government obtained more than $2.6 billion in overall recoveries,...more
Phillip Esformes, the alleged mastermind of one of “the largest single criminal health care fraud cases ever brought against individuals by the Department of Justice,”has finally reached a plea deal with the Department of...more
This report reviews notable areas for government enforcement actions during 2023 that were discussed in our monthly Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up reports. In the past year, we saw the relevant federal government enforcement...more
We are pleased to bring you our 12th annual Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review. Our Review provides comprehensive coverage of the most significant civil and criminal enforcement issues facing healthcare providers. Each year, we...more
Community Health Network (CHN) in Indiana has agreed to pay $345 million to settle false claims allegations that it paid over-the-top salaries to hundreds of physicians and rewarded them for their referrals in violation of...more
The Physician Self-Referral Law — known as the “Stark Law” — broadly prohibits physicians from profiting from self-referrals for “designated health services” (DHS) payable by Medicare or Medicaid. For example, the Stark Law...more
In a settlement larger than Halifax and Tuomey combined, an Indianapolis-based health system recently settled with the Department of Justice for $345 million to resolve Stark Law and False Claims Act allegations relating to...more
When negotiating physician compensation issues, hospitals frequently rely upon the premise they must pay fair market value compensation in order to comply with the provisions of the Stark Act prohibiting referrals in exchange...more
Community Health Network, Inc. (“Community Health”) is a non-profit healthcare system with more than 200 hundred affiliated sites throughout central Indiana. As such, Community Health is one of the larger Midwest...more
On November 6, 2023, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) published the General Compliance Program Guidance (GCPG) as a revised reference guide for the healthcare compliance...more