Jones Day Talks Health Care: The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act
In one of the few prosecutions based on the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), and in an even rarer Court of Appeals opinion interpreting the statute, the Ninth Circuit in United States v. Schena, No. 23-2989, 2025...more
On July 11, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the criminal conviction of laboratory operator Mark Schena for violations of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act, 18 U.S.C. § 220 (EKRA) based on...more
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), 18 U.S.C. § 220, is a criminal statute that prohibits knowingly and willfully soliciting or receiving remuneration for referring patients to recovery homes, clinical treatment...more
Since the pandemic, COVID-19-related fraud has been a consistent target of the Department of Justice....more
Although often well-intentioned, offering free or discounted items or services to patients (e.g., gifts, rewards, writing off copays, free screening exams, free supplies, etc.) may violate federal and state laws governing...more
Recently, Holland & Knight healthcare attorneys have received questions as to whether the Eliminating Kickback in Recovery Act (EKRA) is still in effect, given the recent expiration of many provisions of the Substance...more
Hear directly from the enforcement community - Want to gain insight into properly monitoring, detecting, investigating, and managing violations? Join us at HCCA’s Annual Healthcare Enforcement Compliance Conference to...more
Five years ago Congress enacted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (“EKRA”). Aimed at combating kickbacks in the addiction treatment industry, EKRA prohibits remunerations in return for patient referrals to...more
Signaling its continued scrutiny of the laboratory industry, the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a settlement agreement with Texas lab Genotox Laboratories Ltd. last month related to compensation Genotox paid to...more
Physicians and other healthcare providers often structure their group compensation formulas on an “eat what you kill” basis, i.e., a provider is paid based on the services he or she performs in addition to items or services...more
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) was enacted by Congress in October of 2018 as part of the SUPPORT Act. While its initial focus was to address patient brokering and kickback schemes within recovery homes and...more
Despite some regulatory flexibilities granted to clinical laboratories during the COVID-19 crisis, there are two separate federal anti-kickback laws labs must strictly adhere to throughout this public health emergency and...more
In the post-COVID era, health care fraud and abuse issues will be aggressively and swiftly enforced by the government. The legal framework and regulations in the health care space can be intimidating. Below is a comparison of...more
It has been four years since Congress enacted the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (“EKRA”), codified at 18 U.S.C. § 220. EKRA initially targeted patient brokering and kickback schemes within the addiction treatment and...more
Since its passage in late 2018, the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) (18 U.S.C. § 220) has posed interpretive challenges. Our detailed critical analysis of EKRA is available here...more
Enacted in 2018, the Eliminating Kickbacks Recovery Act (EKRA) remains a source of anxiety and confusion in the clinical laboratory industry. In the four years since EKRA's enactment, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)...more
On October 24, 2018, Congress enacted the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act, (the “SUPPORT Act”). Section 1822 of the SUPPORT Act contains the...more
The Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), a law that became effective in October 2018, extended federal kickback prohibitions to services provided by recovery homes, clinical treatment facilities, and laboratories...more
As in the previous fiscal year, we expect the federal government to direct much of its fraud and abuse law enforcement activities at the health care industry. The federal government has many civil, criminal, and...more
On October 18, 2021, a U.S. District Court in Hawaii decided that providers subject to the federal Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) are permitted to pay employees and independent contractors sales commissions for...more
A dispute between a clinical laboratory and a former employee who had managed the lab's client accounts has resulted in an unanticipated interpretation of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA). Background -...more
On November 4, 2021, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the conviction of several South Florida addiction treatment facility operators following a seven-week trial. ...more
The federal government has recently made clear its intention to go after healthcare providers who provide amniotic injections to certain Medicare and Medicaid recipients. Over recent years, the federal government has...more
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) are scrutinizing health care providers’ Medicare billings for amniotic injections. These injections are only eligible for Medicare...more