Jul 27, 2020 | Health Care
On July 8, 2020, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that Hope Hospice agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve a qui tam whistleblower action under the federal False Claims Act (FCA). The settlement resolved allegations that...
Jul 21, 2020 | Fraud Investigations, Health Care
Since the beginning of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the use of telemedicine and telehealth services has skyrocketed. In March, we wrote about the temporary expansion of telehealth services by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Specifically, CMS...
Jul 13, 2020 | COVID-19 Related Law, General, Health Care
On Sine Die (the last day of the legislative session), the Georgia General Assembly passed SB359 to provide liability protections to healthcare providers and businesses in the state. As COVID-19 continues to attack the community, healthcare facilities and providers...
Jul 6, 2020 | False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations, Government Investigations, Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid
On June 26, 2020, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated part of a $348 million verdict awarded pursuant to the False Claims Act (FCA). The court also held that a qui tam plaintiff may have standing to bring an FCA claim even after entering into a litigation...
Jul 2, 2020 | False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations, Government Investigations, Health Care, Medicare and Medicaid
On July 1, 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced two separate settlements with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation (“Novartis”), totaling more than $729 million, involving allegations that Novartis paid kickbacks to doctors and patients. In the first...
Jun 29, 2020 | False Claims Act, Fraud Investigations, Government Investigations, Health Care
Last week, two Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Offices announced multi-million dollar False Claims Act (FCA) settlements with major health systems. First, on June 24, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced that Augusta University Medical...