The OIG published a notice July 11, 2014 announcing that it is considering revising its nonbinding criteria, established in 1997, outlining the circumstances under which the OIG may exercise its permissive authority under Section 1128(b)(7) of the Social Security Act to exclude an individual or entity from participation in the federal health care programs for
False Claims Act
Will Physician Payment Sunshine Act Data Usher in a New Era of False Claims Act Litigation?
While attention has been focused on Medicare physician payment data released by CMS yesterday, upcoming Sunshine Act data will shine a new spotlight on financial relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical and medical device companies – with potential False Claims Act (FCA) implications.
Specifically, last week marked the deadline for pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to register with and submit aggregate 2013 payment and investment interest data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on certain financial relationships between themselves and physicians and teaching hospitals, as required by the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. In May, manufacturers and GPOs will be required to submit to CMS detailed 2013 payment data. With some exceptions, CMS will be making these data public by September 1, 2014. While the publicly-available data are intended to provide more transparency for patients, to allow them to have a better understanding of the financial relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical and medical device companies, patients will certainly not be the only group interested in this public information. It is likely that the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, Department of Justice, and relators’ attorneys will utilize these data to initiate investigations and support complaints under the federal FCA.
Continue Reading Will Physician Payment Sunshine Act Data Usher in a New Era of False Claims Act Litigation?
DOJ Touts $3.8 Billion in FY 2013 False Claims Act Recoveries
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that it recovered $3.8 billion in settlements and judgments in civil False Claims Act cases in fiscal year (FY) 2013, including health care fraud recoveries totaling approximately $2.6 billion. The DOJ notes that about $1.8 billion in recoveries involved alleged false claims for drugs and medical devices…
OIG Issues Fall 2013 Semiannual Report
The OIG has issued its Semiannual Report to Congress for the period of April 1 – September 30, 2013, in which it highlights significant investigation, audit, and enforcement activities and achievements across HHS programs. For all of FY 2013, the OIG reports expected recoveries of more than $5.8 billion, consisting of almost $850 million in…
OIG Issues Semiannual Report for First Half of FY 2013
The OIG has issued its latest Semiannual Report to Congress, covering the period of October 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013. For the first half of FY 2013, the OIG reported expected recoveries of about $3.8 billion, consisting of more than $521 million in audit receivables and about $3.28 billion in investigative receivables (which…
Proposed Rule Would Reward Medicare Fraud Tipsters up to $9.9 Million, Revise Medicare Provider Enrollment Regulations
This post was also written by Andrew C. Bernasconi.
Yesterday the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would dramatically increase the potential reward to an individual who provides a tip leading to the recovery of Medicare funds from a current maximum of $1,000 to a maximum of $9.9 million under the Medicare Incentive Reward Program. Since 1998, an individual providing information regarding potential Medicare fraud and abuse to the Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General or the Medicare contractor with jurisdiction over the suspected fraudulent provider or supplier may be eligible to receive 10 percent of the Medicare funds ultimately collected from the tip, or $1,000, whichever is less. Pursuant to the proposed rule CMS issued yesterday, an individual furnishing information that otherwise satisfies the requirements set forth in 42 C.F.R. § 420.405 would be eligible to receive 15 percent of a recovery up to $66 million. Therefore, a tipster could receive up to a $9.9 million reward for any information provided regarding suspected Medicare fraud and abuse.Continue Reading Proposed Rule Would Reward Medicare Fraud Tipsters up to $9.9 Million, Revise Medicare Provider Enrollment Regulations
OIG Updates Guidelines for Evaluating State False Claims Acts
The OIG has updated its 2006 guidelines on how it determines whether a state false claims act law meets certain federal standards. By way of background, to encourage improved state efforts to fight Medicaid fraud, the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) enables states that adopt state false claims acts to retain a greater portion of Medicaid overpayments.
FY 2012 Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program Report
On February 11, 2013, the Obama Administration announced that anti-fraud efforts under the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program (HCFAC) recovered a record-breaking amount of $4.2 billion in FY 2012. More specifically, in 2012 the Justice Department opened 1,131 new criminal health care fraud investigations involving 2,148 potential defendants, and a total of 826…
Justice Department Reports Nearly $5 Billion in False Claims Act Recoveries for FY 2012
The Department of Justice recently announced that it secured a record $4.9 billion in settlements and judgments in civil fraud cases in FY 2012, including health care fraud recoveries totaling more than $3 billion. The Department notes that some of the largest recoveries during the year – representing nearly $2 billion — involved false…
OIG Reports Almost $7 Billion in Audit/Investigation Recoveries for FY 2012
On November 27, 2012, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its fall Semiannual Report to Congress, which summarizes significant OIG enforcement, investigation, and audit activities for the period of April 1 – September 30, 2012, along with summary information for all of FY 2012. Most notably, the OIG reports approximately $6.9 billion…
U.S. District Court Decides Whistleblower Cannot Rely on Stolen Patient Records
Reed Smith’s Life Sciences Legal Update blog discusses a recent decision by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio that may make it much harder for qui tam relators to rely upon stolen medical records or patient information in False Claims Act (“FCA”) whistleblower actions. In the decision, Cabotage v. Ohio…
Fifth Circuit Upholds Ability of Government Employee Fraud Investigators to Bring Qui Tam False Claims Actions
Reed Smith’s Global Regulatory Enforcement Law Blog recently featured a post on the Fifth Circuit’s ruling in United States ex rel. Little v. Shell Exploration & Production Co., in which the Court held that government employees are entitled to bring qui tam actions under the False Claims Act (FCA) – even if their federal job…
10-Year ‘Look Back’ Proposed for Identification and Return of Medicare Part A and B Overpayments
Providers and suppliers have until April 16, 2012 to comment on the proposed rule to implement provisions of Section 6402(a) of the Affordable Care Act that require “persons” receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds to report and return overpayments no later than 60 days after the date on which the overpayment was identified or, if applicable,…
False Claims Act Developments: 2nd Circuit to Consider Whether In-House Lawyer can be a Qui Tam Relator
This post was written by Matthew R. Sheldon and Alexander Y. Thomas. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals is reviewing a lower court decision disqualifying a former in-house attorney from acting as a False Claims Act qui tam relator against his former employer. The relator was formerly general counsel to Unilab, a subsidiary of…
CMS Proposed Rule on Reporting and Returning of Medicare Overpayments Under the ACA
On February 16, 2012, CMS published a proposed rule to implement an ACA provision requiring enrolled providers and suppliers (and certain other enrollees) receiving Medicare funds to report and return Medicare overpayments by the later of 60 days after the date on which the overpayment was identified or, if applicable, the date any corresponding cost report is due. Although the requirement to refund an overpayment already exists in federal law, the proposed rule clarifies what constitutes “identification” of an overpayment, the mechanics of when and how an overpayment must be returned, and the period of time subject to repayment. An overview of the proposed rule follows.
Continue Reading CMS Proposed Rule on Reporting and Returning of Medicare Overpayments Under the ACA
Justice Department FCA Recoveries Top $3 Billion in FY 2011
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced more than $3 billion in False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries in FY 2011, including $2.4 billion in recoveries involving federal health care program fraud. The pharmaceutical industry was the source of the largest recoveries — the DOJ reports almost $2.2 billion in civil claims against the pharmaceutical industry in…
OIG Posts Quality-of-Care CIAs
The OIG has created a central listing of “quality of care” corporate integrity agreements (CIAs) that providers have entered into as a part of False Claims Act settlements resolving allegations of fraud that impact the quality of patient care. The OIG requires that providers under a quality of care CIA retain an independent quality monitor …
OIG Reports $3.4 Billion in Recoveries for First Half of FY 2011
The OIG has issued its Semiannual Report to Congress for the period of October 2010 through March 2011. The OIG reports $3.4 billion in new expected recoveries during this period related to its investigations, audits, and other reviews, mainly involving the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The bulk of the recoveries($3.2 billion) is attributable to 349 criminal …
Senate Judiciary Committee Clears Anti-Fraud Legislation
On May 19, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a number of fraud measures, including an amended version of S. 623, the Sunshine in Litigation Act, which would require courts to consider public health and safety before granting a protective order or sealing court records and settlement agreements. The panel also approved S. 890, the…