On August 20, 2019, the United States exercised its authority under the False Claims Act (FCA) to seek dismissal of a relator’s qui tam suit because of the defendant’s burdensome discovery demands, in Polansky v. Executive...more
8/24/2019
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discovery ,
Dismissals ,
EHR ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
The Granston Memo ,
Two-Midnight Rule
Last week, a U.S. district court judge in the Southern District of Florida upheld a magistrate judge’s decision to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) allegations against a compounding pharmacy, its private equity firm owner, and...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a $1.99 million False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with GenomeDx Biosciences Corp. (“GenomeDx”), a laboratory headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia with operations in...more
2/22/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Failure to Comply ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Local Coverage Determination (LCD) ,
Medical Necessity ,
Medicare ,
Physician Medicare Reimbursements ,
Physicians ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators
Last week the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $57 million settlement with electronic health record (EHR) software vendor Greenway Health LLC (Greenway). According to DOJ, Greenway violated the False Claims Act (FCA)...more
2/14/2019
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EHR ,
Electronic Health Record Incentives ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Meaningful Use ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Software ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In an Advisory Opinion posted earlier this week, the OIG gave the green light to a charitable pediatric clinic’s routine waiver of patient cost-sharing amounts. The OIG’s analysis hinged on several factors that, taken...more
1/21/2019
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Cost-Sharing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Clinics ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Low-Income Issues ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Pediatrics ,
Waivers
As in years past, the False Claims Act (FCA) remained a powerful health care enforcement tool in 2018, and FCA investigations and litigation persisted, fueled mainly by hundreds of lawsuits filed annually by relators,...more
1/16/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Gilead Sciences Inc v United States ex rel Campie ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Solicitor General ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently intervened in a False Claims Act (FCA) case that raises a variety of interesting allegations, including payment of kickbacks by a compounding pharmacy to contracted marketing companies...more
The waiver of copayments, coinsurance, and deductibles owed by patients treated by out-of-network laboratories and other providers is a hot topic in the health care industry. Despite the near absence of clear legal...more
Over the past year, significant regulatory changes began to take shape that will have lasting effects on the laboratory industry for years to come. After publishing draft guidance regarding the regulation of laboratory...more
12/31/2015
/ Aetna ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
CIGNA ,
CLIA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Laboratory Developed Tests ,
OIG ,
PAMA ,
Stark Law
With Halloween looming, a discussion of skeletons that may be lurking in a health care provider’s closet is timely. Many of our previous posts, as well as the monthly Qui Tam Updates published by our Health Care Enforcement...more
10/29/2015
/ 60-Day Rule ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Market Value ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Final Rules ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Overpayment ,
Physician Compensation Arrangements ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Safe Harbors ,
Settlement ,
Stark Law ,
Suppliers ,
Third-Party ,
Training
This week a federal district court in Ohio ruled in favor of Mobilex USA (Mobilex), the country’s largest mobile medical imaging company, on a motion for summary judgment in a False Claims Act (FCA) suit filed by a former...more
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a decision in Walsh et al. v. Amerisource Bergen Corp. et al denying the Relator’s motion to dismiss a counterclaim that alleged the Relator...more
Given that laboratories operate in a heavily regulated environment, the advice of legal counsel is integral to ensuring compliance with the many laws and regulations that govern the laboratory industry. Luckily the...more