June 29, 2017
False Claims Act Legal News
Health First, Inc. and related entities have agreed to pay $3.5 million to resolve a False Claims Act lawsuit filed in 2014 by a whistleblower (the “relator”). The related entities include Health First, Inc., Health First Health Plans, Inc., Health First Medical Group, Holmes Regional Medical Center, Palm Bay Hospital, […]
June 26, 2017
False Claims Act Legal News
On June 9, 2017, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss in the False Claims Act lawsuit titled U.S. et al. ex rel. Tina D. Groat v. Boston Heart Diagnostics Corp., No. CV 15-487 (RBW), 2017 WL 2533341, at *1 (D.D.C. […]
June 23, 2017
Healthcare Fraud
A drug manufacturer’s savings card program or discount coupon under which individuals who have Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage receive discounts may violate the Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”), unless the drug being purchased is statutorily excluded from Part D coverage. The key here is that the drug must be excluded […]
June 21, 2017
Healthcare Fraud
Retail pharmacies that offer a discount drug pricing program to consumers must charge Medicare the same prices for drugs that they charge consumers who participate in those programs. To do otherwise violates the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The specific question is whether a pharmacy that offers a discount drug pricing […]
June 19, 2017
False Claims Act Information
One of the various procedural requirements imposed on whistleblowers is that they file their cases “under seal.” Not much is explained in the False Claims Act (“FCA”) as to what that means, other than the general understanding that no notification of the filing to the defendant takes place, what is […]
June 15, 2017
False Claims Act Legal News
In Part I of this blog series, we discussed the False Claims Act (“FCA”)’s public disclosure bar and the so called industry-wide public disclosure bar. In this blog post, we will examine a 2017 qui tam case that discusses and rejects the industry-wide public disclosure bar. An industry-wide public disclosure bar […]
June 13, 2017
False Claims Act Legal News
The False Claims Act (“FCA”) permits private individuals, known as relators, to sue on the Government’s behalf to recover funds that were fraudulently or falsely obtained from the Government. If a relator successfully recovers money for the Government, the FCA provides that the relator is entitled to a substantial percentage […]
June 7, 2017
False Claims Act Information
The federal government provides funding to an incredible number of non-government entities through direct spending and grants. The False Claims Act (“FCA”) provides that anyone who presents “false or fraudulent claims” or who commits other similar offenses is subject to substantial penalties. “Claim” is defined as including any request for […]
June 5, 2017
Contractor Fraud
In Part I of this blog series, we identified various government programs that are often the target of fraud. In this blog post, we will examine the types of fraud that are committed against these programs, as well as recent case examples of fraud. Types of Fraud Cases alleging violations […]
May 31, 2017
Contractor Fraud
For decades now, the federal government has had various programs in place to provide preferences to businesses owned by groups to which the government wants to provide special opportunities. We wrote about this in a previous post and write now to expand on and update that post. In Part I […]
May 24, 2017
False Claims Act Information
Government knowledge no longer serves as an absolute bar to False Claims Act (“FCA”) actions as it did in the past. Now, the focus is on the defendant’s state of mind. Courts consider whether at the time of submitting the false claims to the government, the defendant fully cooperated and […]
May 22, 2017
Healthcare Fraud
In Part I of this blog series, we defined the term “specialty drugs” and addressed whether fraud is common in the specialty drugs arena. In this blog post, we will examine how the federal Anti-Kickback Statute impacts specialty drug fraud, whether there are special frauds involving specialty drugs, and what […]