Last week, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt delivered remarks to lawyers at an annual conference in Washington, D.C. While the remarks included the Justice Department’s annual boasting of significant...more
The year 2019 was another active year in False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation. Although the year lacked a singular blockbuster case, there were decisions of particular note. The Supreme Court clarified the...more
1/23/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Private Equity ,
Public Disclosure Bar ,
Qui Tam ,
Stark Law ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Whistleblowers
The year 2019 was another active year in False Claims Act (FCA) investigations and litigation. Although the year lacked a singular blockbuster case, there were decisions of particular note. The Supreme Court clarified the...more
1/20/2020
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Causation ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Final Judgment ,
First-to-File ,
Government Investigations ,
Health Care Providers ,
Issue Preclusion ,
Materiality ,
Medicare Advantage ,
Objective Falsity ,
Overpayment ,
Pleading Standards ,
Public Disclosure Bar ,
Qui Tam ,
Sanctions ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Standing ,
Stark Law ,
Statute of Limitations
Resolving a circuit split, the United States Supreme Court in Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Hunt held that False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblowers are able to take advantage of an expanded statute of limitations,...more
5/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Cochise Consultancy Inc v United States ex rel Hunt ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Government Officials ,
Intervenors ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Oral Argument ,
Qui Tam ,
Reaffirmation ,
Relators ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
On April 30, 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ), Criminal Division released a new guidance document intended to assist prosecutors in evaluating corporate compliance programs and guide corporations in creating them. The...more
5/9/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
New Guidance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Assessment
Companies that work with the federal government (think Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, government contracts, grant funding) need to stay up to date on the False Claims Act (FCA). The FCA is one of the primary tools used...more
INTRODUCTION -
Unlike some recent years, 2018 was somewhat short on headline grabbing news related to the False Claims Act (FCA). There were, to be sure, significant developments in the courts and within the Department of...more
1/18/2019
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Dismissals ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Implied Certification Theory ,
Fraud and Abuse ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Qui Tam ,
Relators ,
Retaliation ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Whistleblowers ,
Yates Memorandum
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
12/17/2018
/ Audits ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Data Management ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Facilities ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Fraud Strike Force ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Risk Mitigation
Since early 2018, federal health care regulators and enforcers have seemingly sung a new tune. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) walls bear posters inscribed with the phrase “Patients Over Paperwork.” The...more
8/7/2018
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
OIG ,
Qui Tam ,
Safe Harbors ,
Value-Based Care
The opioid crisis in America is now well known, affecting a staggering number of people directly or indirectly and occupying a regular place in media reports and political discussions. In addition to potential public health...more
7/19/2018
/ Civil Liability ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
DEA ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Drug & Alcohol Abuse ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Health Care Providers ,
Investigations ,
Law Enforcement ,
OIG ,
Opioid ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Pharmacies ,
Physicians ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Public Health ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supply Chain
In a speech before the American Bar Association’s Antitrust in Healthcare conference, held last week in Virginia, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Barry Nigro offered the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) most recent statement...more
5/25/2018
/ Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Division ,
Antitrust Violations ,
Competition ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare ,
Hospitals ,
Professional Conferences
In a pair of recent speeches, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a new Department of Justice (DOJ) policy aimed at encouraging coordination among DOJ and other enforcement agencies and avoiding “unfair...more
Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued two separate memoranda with potentially far-reaching consequences. While the practical effect of these documents remains to be seen, they may provide another avenue of...more
The federal government continues to use the False Claims Act (FCA) as one of its prime enforcement tools against government contractors. To keep you informed on the status of the law, Bradley’s Government Enforcement and...more
1/30/2018
/ Causation ,
Damages ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Implied Certification Theory ,
First-to-File ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Materiality ,
Objective Falsity ,
Overpayment ,
Pro Se Litigants ,
Reverse False Claims ,
Settlement ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Yates Memorandum
Bradley’s Government Enforcement and Investigations practice group is pleased to present the 2017 False Claims Act Year in Review, our annual review of significant False Claims Act (FCA) cases, developments, and trends. The...more
1/24/2018
/ Causation ,
Damages ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False Implied Certification Theory ,
Federal Contractors ,
First-to-File ,
Health Care Providers ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Materiality ,
Pro Se Litigants ,
Retaliation ,
Rule 9(b) ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar
We are pleased to present Bradley’s annual review of significant False Claims Act (FCA) cases, developments, and trends. From a relatively short article several years ago, the Review has grown to a significant publication...more
1/10/2017
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Appeals ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Defense Contracts ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False-Certification of Conformance ,
Federal Contractors ,
FRCP 9(b) ,
Healthcare Fraud ,
Materiality ,
Objective Falsity ,
Off-Label Promotion ,
Overpayment ,
Public Disclosure ,
Qui Tam ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Standard of Review ,
Successor Liability ,
Transfer of Venue ,
United States ex rel Nelson v Sanford-Brown ,
Universal Health Services Inc v United States ex rel Escobar ,
Whistleblowers ,
Yates Memorandum
According to articles in Missouri newspapers and other news outlets, federal agents recently executed search warrants in several counties in Missouri to probe possible criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide,...more
Last week, in McDonnell v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the bribery convictions of Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia. In doing so, the unanimous Court rejected prosecutors’ expansive...more
The False Claims Act (FCA) is the federal government’s chief weapon to combat false or fraudulent claims made to the government and has resulted in billions of dollars of recoveries. In recent years, broad interpretation of...more
The Supreme Court’s decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar reframes when falsity may be implied under the False Claims Act (FCA) and raises the bar for materiality under the statute. Though the...more
In a humorous yet stern rebuke of the government’s damages theory, the Sixth Circuit in United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Construction, LLC, No. 14-6150, 2016 WL 423750 (6th Cir. Feb. 4, 2016), reversed a lower court’s...more
This year continued the trend of aggressive False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and high volumes of qui tam lawsuits brought by whistleblowers. In fiscal year 2015, the DOJ marked the fourth...more
12/22/2015
/ Anti-Kickback Statute ,
Certiorari ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
False-Certification of Conformance ,
Federal Contractors ,
First-to-File ,
Implied Certification ,
Public Disclosure ,
Qui Tam ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Stark Law ,
Whistleblowers
As its name implies, the False Claims Act (FCA) prohibits false or fraudulent claims to the federal government. Broadly construed, the FCA can apply to anyone receiving federal funds, but it is especially critical to...more
In what is becoming an annual refrain, 2014 marked another year of robust False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and mushrooming qui tam lawsuits by whistleblowers. Indeed, fiscal year 2014...more
1/19/2015
/ Bank of America ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
BNP Paribas ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Health Care Providers ,
Janssen Pharmaceuticals ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
KBR (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) ,
Qui Tam ,
Settlement Agreements ,
SunTrust ,
US Bank ,
Wartime Suspension of Limitations Act ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Every company, large or small, will eventually face a problem that requires an internal investigation. Boiled to its essence, an internal investigation is really nothing more than a way to obtain information to avoid or solve...more