DOJ Announces National Healthcare Fraud Enforcement Action – 138 Defendants Charged and $1.4 billion in Alleged Losses

On September 17, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the execution of another nationwide enforcement action targeting healthcare fraud.  The enforcement action marks the second year that the DOJ has announced a nationwide takedown.  Last year, CG attorneys...

CMS’ New Advisory Opinion on Stark and Group Practices

In June, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a new advisory opinion  on whether a physician practice may qualify as a “group practice” for purposes of the federal physician self-referral law (1877(h)(4) of the Social Security Act and 42...

Georgia Adopts a New Anti-Kickback Statute

Georgia’s new anti-kickback statute relating to drug abuse treatment and education programs took effect on July 1, 2021.  The new statute comes as many states adopt similar laws that reflect the Federal Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 in an effort to...

Lessons from the Most Recent OCR HIPAA Settlement

On June 2, 2021, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced another settlement of an enforcement action in its Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Right of Access Initiative. This is the...