HHS Policy Changes, Supreme Court Rulings, and the DOJ-HHS False Claims Act Working Group
Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 14
The Justice Insiders: FIFA Corruption Trial – Will the Feds Score Another Goal?
Rob DeConti on the Latest Guidance and Insights from the OIG at HHS
On July, 11, 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed laboratory operator Mark Schena’s conviction under Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA). This is the first time a higher court has addressed the lab...more
Texas AG Ken Paxton has sued pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly for allegedly bribing and illegally inducing medical providers to prescribe and continue prescribing several Lilly drugs—including GLP-1 medications Mounjaro...more
On August 11, 2025, New Jersey’s Acting Governor, Tahesha Way, signed into law two bills to combat patient brokering and deceptive marketing practices in the Substance Use Disorder (“SUD”) treatment industry. The legislation,...more
The federal government has demonstrated that it is more than willing to use the United States criminal code to prosecute home care agencies that pay unlawful financial inducements to generate referrals in violation of the...more
On July 16, 49 attorneys general (AGs) announced that they joined a $202 million settlement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead). Previously announced by the Department of Justice in April, the settlement resolved allegations...more
In a matter of first impression, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted the scope of the 2018 Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) in the context of a lab operator who allegedly paid marketers to induce...more
The False Claims Act continues to be one of the most commonly used weapons in the government’s enforcement arsenal to address various forms of fraud. In addition to our “Year in Review” publication providing an overview of...more
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
New York AG Letitia James, along with a bipartisan coalition of 48 other AGs and in coordination with the U.S. DOJ, announced a $202 million settlement in principle with Gilead Sciences, Inc. (“Gilead”), to resolve...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
On June 6, 2025, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Advisory Opinion 25-03 (the “Opinion”), offering guidance for structuring telehealth collaborations in a manner that complies with the federal Anti-Kickback...more
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on April 23 that Genexe, LLC (doing business as Genexe Health) and its parent company, Immerge, Inc., along with two of their executive...more
Gilead to Pay $202 Million to Settle DOJ Claims Over Speaker Program Kickbacks - Gilead Sciences, Inc. has agreed to pay $202 million to resolve allegations brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) that it violated...more
The Office of Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Andrea Campbell announced the criminal indictment of several Massachusetts-based health care providers and their owners in connection with allegedly false claims they...more
As of February 18, 2025, the First Circuit Court of Appeals requires the government to prove “but-for” causation in Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS)-based False Claims Act (FCA) cases. The court reasoned in United States v....more
Jury Clears SuperValu of Liability in Whistleblower FCA Prescription Pricing Case - A federal jury in Illinois recently found SuperValu not liable in a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the company of overcharging the...more
In United States v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that when the government seeks to establish False Claims Act liability under the 2010 amendment to the Anti-Kickback...more
On February 18, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit issued a highly anticipated ruling interpreting the relationship between the False Claims Act ("FCA") and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS"), holding...more
Massachusetts District Court Judge Applies Heightened Causation Standard in FCA Case - On January 6, a District Court of Massachusetts judge granted summary judgment for defendants on allegations of violating the...more
Second Circuit Partially Affirms Novartis’ Motion to Dismiss AKS Claims - Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s ruling that dismissed allegations from a whistleblower who claimed that...more
On December 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in USA v. Mark Sorensen, case number 24-1557, and it is now taking under advisement a case that could have widespread effects as to what...more
Seventh Circuit Considers When Legal Marketing Transforms Into Illegal Kickbacks - On December 4, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments regarding whether the January 2023 jury conviction of...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a Nov. 12, 2024, press release that an ophthalmology practice with offices located in West Central Florida (the Provider) entered into an approximately $1.3 million settlement...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. (Teva USA) and Teva Neuroscience Inc. (“Teva”) agreed to pay $450 million to resolve two matters that allege Teva violated the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the False Claims Act (FCA). Teva is...more
Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic drug manufacturer in the United States, has agreed to pay $450 million to resolve allegations of violating the False Claims Act and Anti-Kickback Statute arising from purported...more