Our colleagues George B. Breen, Jonah D. Retzinger, and Daniel C. Fundakowski of Epstein Becker Green have published a client alert that will be of interest to our readers: "OIG Issues New Guidance on Its Evaluation Process and Non-Binding Criteria for Section 1128(b)(7) Exclusions."
Following is an excerpt:
On April 18, 2016, the Office of Inspector General ("OIG") of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a revised policy statement applicable to exclusions imposed under Section 1128(b)(7) of the Social Security Act ("Act"), pursuant to which OIG may exclude individuals or entities from participation in federal health care programs for engaging in conduct prohibited by Section 1128A (civil monetary penalties) or Section 1128B (criminal penalties for acts involving federal health care programs) of the Act. OIG typically invokes Section 1128(b)(7) when initiating exclusion proceedings in the context of False Claims Act ("FCA") matters.
The revised policy statement serves two purposes: (1) it describes how OIG evaluates risk to federal health care programs, and (2) it overhauls the non-binding factors that OIG uses in determining that some period of exclusion should be imposed against an individual or entity that has defrauded Medicare or any other federal health care program. The revised policy statement supersedes and replaces the policy statement published by OIG in 1997, which first set forth the non-binding criteria used by OIG in assessing whether to impose a Section 1128(b)(7) permissive exclusion.
A summary of the guidance and an overview of the ramifications for the health care industry are provided below. ...