Health Law Advisor

On February 22, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2023, which ended on September 30, 2023. While the $2.68 billion in total recoveries continues an upward trend from the $2.24 billion reported in FY 2022, a primary takeaway is the focus on DOJ-driven investigations.

During remarks on February 22 at the Federal Bar Association’s Qui Tam Conference, DOJ Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton reported that in FY 2023, the United  States was a party to 543 FCA ...

On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported its False Claims Act (FCA) statistics for fiscal year (FY) 2020. More than $2.2 billion was recovered from both settlements and judgments in 2020, the lowest level since 2008 and almost $1 billion less than was recovered in 2019. The total recoveries in 2020 reflect the first of many anticipated resolutions of fraud enforcement actions in the COVID-19 world, and over 80% of all recoveries—amounting to almost $1.9 billion—came from the health care and life sciences industries.

HIGHEST NUMBER OF NEW FILINGS EVER REPORTED

Significantly, 2020 saw the largest number of new FCA matters initiated in a single year. The government initiated new FCA matters at its highest rate since 1994, with 250 new cases brought in 2020. Strikingly, the number of government-initiated cases against health care entities more than doubled from 2019 to 2020 and was at the highest level ever reported. Likewise, qui tam relators filed 672 new matters in FY 2020, an increase over FY 2019 and the fifth highest number of cases in reported history. Qui tam relators filed, on average, almost 13 new cases a week. Of the 672 qui tam cases filed, 68% were related to health care.

QUI TAM FILINGS CONTINUE TO BE THE DRIVER

Total recoveries from qui tam-initiated actions generated almost $1.7 billion. While the largest recoveries continue to come from cases where the government intervenes, cases pursued by relators post-declination generated more than $193 million in FY 2020, the fifth largest annual recovery in non-intervened cases since 1986. These cases continue to be rewarding for relators; over $309 million in relators’ share awards were paid in FY 2020, of which more than $261 million were paid in cases pursued against health care entities.

A dental practice and related dental management company have become the first two entities to make their way on to the newly created “High Risk – Heightened Scrutiny” list from the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services (the “OIG”).[1]

ImmediaDent of Indiana, LLC, a professional dental practice (“ImmediaDent”), and Samson Dental Partners, LLC, a dental management company which provides management and administrative services to ImmediaDent and other dental practices in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio ...

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it has entered into a settlement agreement with Davita Medical Holdings (Davita) for $270 million dollars to resolve certain False Claims Act liability related to Medicare Advantage risk adjustment payments.

As the settlement agreement describes, Davita acquired HealthCare Partners (HCP), a large California based independent physician association in 2012. HCP, subsequently Davita Medical Group (or Davita), operated as a medical service organization (MSO) who contracted with Medicare Advantage Organizations ...

On Monday, August 12, 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a new addition to its regional Medicare Fraud Strike Forces: a Newark/Philadelphia Regional Medicare Strike Force that will target both healthcare fraud and opioid overprescription.[1] The newly-formed Newark/Philadelphia Strike Force joins nine existing regional Medicare Strike Forces, all of which are focused in geographical areas of high healthcare fraud risk: Miami, Florida; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Southern Texas; Southern Louisiana; Brooklyn, New York; Tampa ...

On March 15, 2017, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion that sheds insight on how courts view the "writing" requirement of various exceptions under the federal physician self-referral law (or "Stark Law"). The ruling involved the FCA qui tam case, United States ex rel. Emanuele v. Medicor Assocs., No. 1:10-cv-245, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36593 (W.D. Pa. Mar. 15, 2017), involving a cardiology practice (Medicor Associates, Inc.) and the Hamot Medical Center. The Court's detailed discussion of the Stark Law in its summary judgment ...

As discussed previously in this blog, efforts to curb fraud, waste and abuse are generally "bi-partisan." Given the significant monetary recoveries the Government enjoys through enforcement of the federal False Claims Act ("FCA"), we have predicted that efforts in this arena will continue under a Trump administration. However, this is dependent, in part, on the priorities of the new administration and the resources it devotes in this arena. To this end, the testimony of Attorney General nominee Sessions during his confirmation hearing on January 10th may have given us some ...

The federal government continues to secure significant recoveries through settlements and court awards related to its enforcement of the False Claims Act (FCA), particularly resulting from actions brought by qui tam relators. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, the federal government reported that it recovered $2.5 billion from the health care industry. Of that $2.5 billion, $1.2 billion was recovered from the drug and medical device industry.  Another $360 million was recovered from hospitals and outpatient clinics.

Government Intervention Drives Recoveries

The FY 2016 FCA statistics ...