Dec 15, 2020 | Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid
On Thursday, December 10, 2020, the Department of Justice issued a press release regarding the sentencing of a Texas clinic owner and employee to 20 years and 8 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in a pill mill scheme. The clinic owner, Baker Niazi, pled...
Dec 10, 2020 | False Claims Act
On December 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the creation of the False Claims Act Working Group (FCA Working Group). The federal False Claims Act (FCA) has remained one of the federal government’s top tools to investigate and...
Dec 2, 2020 | Employment Law
On November 24, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settled its lawsuit against Tegra Medical LLC (Tegra) for $240,000, according to a press release. In July 2020, the EEOC sued Tegra alleging sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of...
Dec 2, 2020 | False Claims Act
On November 6, 2020, a D.C. District Court judge ruled that a whistleblower bringing a suit under the False Claims Act (FCA) need not allege “materiality” when relying on the “fraud in the inducement” theory of falsity. Over the years, Congress and federal agencies...
Dec 1, 2020 | Health Care
On November 24, 2020, Purdue Pharma LP pleaded guilty to allegations that it conspired to defraud the government and violate the anti-kickback statute. Purdue pleaded guilty to three felony charges: one count of dual-object conspiracy to defraud the United States and...
Dec 1, 2020 | Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid
On November 20, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a draft of its final rule regarding Medicare’s physician self-referral law, colloquially known as the Stark Law. On the same day, CMS also issued a press release and fact sheet...
Nov 25, 2020 | COVID-19 Related Law
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted on March 27, 2020, requires insurers to “provide coverage [for], and…not impose any cost-sharing (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance) requirements or prior authorization or other...
Nov 20, 2020 | False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations, Government Investigations, Medicare and Medicaid
The federal False Claims Act (FCA) imposes liability for treble damages and civil penalties on “any person who [among other things] … knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment” to the federal government or who...
