While hospitals will no longer be formally considered sensitive locations under new immigration directives, health care facilities and providers maintain responsibility to protect access to patient care and confidentiality....more
1/27/2025
/ Data Privacy ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
EMTALA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Hospitals ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Immigration Enforcement ,
Patient Access ,
Patient Privacy Rights
The Situation: The False Claims Act ("FCA") imposes treble damages on defendants, as well as mandatory penalties per false claim. Because alleged false claims often involve much smaller amounts—for example, in cases with a...more
8/19/2024
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Due Process ,
Eighth Amendment ,
Excessive Fines Clause ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Treble Damages
The Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS") is a federal criminal statute that prohibits "knowingly and willfully" offering or paying remuneration to induce a person to order or make a referral for an item or service reimbursable by a...more
In Short -
The Situation: On November 6, 2023, the Office of Inspector General ("OIG") of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") released its "General Compliance Program Guidance" ("GCPG"). The GCPG...more
12/1/2023
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Compliance Management Systems ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Draft Guidance ,
Federal Register ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
OIG ,
Physicians ,
Stark Law
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has issued a revised draft guidance that seeks to address questions and provide recommendations regarding the sharing of scientific information with health care providers ("HCPs")...more
11/28/2023
/ Comment Period ,
Draft Guidance ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Life Sciences ,
Medical Devices ,
Off-Label Use ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Scientific Evidence ,
Scientific Research
The decision should prove helpful for those in the health care and life sciences industries whose daily operations require compliance with the federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS")....more
In Short -
The Situation: The Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS") prohibits a defendant from willfully paying or receiving "remuneration" in exchange for referrals—and, in addition, also specifies that any claims "resulting...more
In a momentous event for False Claims Act cases throughout the country, the Supreme Court has granted certiorari to decide the applicable scienter standard....more
DOJ recovers a record $5.6 billion from FCA cases in 2021, the largest annual total since 2014. -
The United States Department of Justice Civil Division ("DOJ") recently announced a recovery of more than $5.6 billion in...more
2/23/2022
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Kickbacks ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Qui Tam
Health care industry participants frequently operate under nuanced legal frameworks that apply to the receipt of government funds. A breach of these regulations can open the door to draconian liability under the FCA even when...more
2/14/2022
/ False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Liability ,
Qui Tam ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Relators ,
Scienter ,
Statutory Interpretation
A defendant who violates the FCA can be liable for treble damages plus a civil penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 (adjusted for inflation) for each false claim. Meanwhile, FCA lawsuits often involve tens of thousands of alleged...more
2/3/2022
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Eighth Amendment ,
Excessive Fines Clause ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False-Certification of Conformance ,
Fines ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicare ,
Qui Tam ,
Reimbursements ,
Relators ,
Statutory Violations ,
Treble Damages
Federal government enforcement in the telemedicine space continues to escalate, with three separate announcements in just the last three weeks regarding criminal and civil telemedicine-related actions. These enforcement...more
9/23/2021
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
OIG ,
Qui Tam ,
Relief Measures ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine
A recent action by the Department of Justice ("DOJ") rescinds two prior policies (commonly referred to as the Brand Memo and the Sessions Memo) that had established limits on the federal government's use of agency guidance...more
On May 26, 2021, DOJ announced a series of coordinated law enforcement actions against 14 defendants across seven federal districts for alleged participation in fraudulent health care schemes that, according to the...more
6/21/2021
/ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Billing ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Kickbacks ,
Telemedicine
On May 14, 2021, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Iowa ("USAO") announced a civil settlement involving a nursing home's allegedly deficient procedures and practices relating to COVID-19 during the early...more
The Situation: In March 2020, the Third and Ninth Circuits held, in two cases in which the government had declined to intervene, that a mere difference of medical opinion may be enough to satisfy the falsity element of 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
3/12/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
EHR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Life Sciences ,
Medicare Part C ,
Opioid ,
Prescription Drugs
The Situation: The Office of Inspector General ("OIG") recently modified the personal services and management contracts safe harbor of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS"). These modifications expand protections to...more
The Situation: The adoption of new technologies has been a hallmark of the health care industry in the twenty-first century. While these technologies have helped to improve both industry efficiency and patient outcomes, the...more
The Situation: On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") released the long-awaited final rule to modernize and clarify the Stark Law. As part of this final rule, CMS reviewed stakeholder...more
The Situation: The isolated transactions exception under the Stark Law has been used by some providers and entities to retroactively protect services arrangements that do not qualify for personal services or fair market value...more
The Situation: Telehealth services continue to evolve and show promise for improving quality care, care coordination, and access to services while often demonstrating cost effective options for care.
The Action: The Office...more
The proposed rule evidences the HHS' and the Administration's continued interest in reducing federal spending for pharmaceutical products.
On February 6, 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") published...more
3/6/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Health Care Providers ,
MCOs ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Safe Harbors