We wrote an article examining recent enforcement actions by the government within the long-term care industry for McKnight’s Long-Term Care News. In the article, we point out that “recent cases reinforce the notion that long-term care providers should pay particular attention to the government’s efforts to police arrangements and business practices that implicate the
Bass, Berry & Sims Releases Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review
Bass, Berry & Sims is pleased to announce the release of its seventh annual Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review. The Review, compiled by the firm’s Healthcare Fraud Task Force, is an in-depth and comprehensive review of enforcement settlements, court decisions and developments affecting the healthcare industry.
The Review is intended to assist healthcare
Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Year End Review: A Look Back…A Look Ahead
Perhaps the single most appropriate word to describe the current state of the civil and criminal healthcare fraud enforcement environment is uncertainty. From changes in personnel and policy at the highest levels of government to a myriad of state and federal legislative developments, healthcare providers face an unsettled landscape as they move into the coming year.
Healthcare Fraud Recoveries Again Exceed $2B
To be sure, statistics would suggest that it was business as usual for the government’s healthcare fraud enforcement efforts. While civil fraud recoveries by the Department of Justice (DOJ) dipped to more than $2.8 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018 (FY 2018) as compared to $3.7 billion in FY 2017, recoveries attributable to the healthcare industry were $2.5 billion in FY 2018 – up from $2.1 billion in FY 2017. This is the ninth consecutive year where recoveries associated with the healthcare industry exceeded $2 billion.Continue Reading Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Year End Review: A Look Back…A Look Ahead
Bass, Berry & Sims and THA Host 4th Annual Nashville Healthcare Fraud Conference
On December 6, Bass, Berry & Sims and the Tennessee Hospital Association hosted more than 120 attendees at the annual Nashville Healthcare Fraud Conference, a full-day seminar focusing on fraud and abuse enforcement issues in the healthcare industry.
Panelists included a number of government attorneys and compliance personnel and in-house counsel from various healthcare providers from across the country, including University of Missouri Health Care (Columbia, Missouri), Children’s National Health System (Washington, D.C.), LifePoint Health (Brentwood, Tennessee), VNA Health Group (Holmdel, New Jersey), OhioHealth Corporation (Columbus, Ohio), Atrium Health System (Charlotte, North Carolina), Adrent Health Services (Nashville, Tennessee), and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, Tennessee), among others.
Continue Reading Bass, Berry & Sims and THA Host 4th Annual Nashville Healthcare Fraud Conference
Supreme Court Agrees to Resolve Circuit Split on FCA Statute of Limitations
On November 16, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Cochise Consultancy, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel. Hunt, agreeing to decide how the FCA’s statute of limitations applies in qui tam actions brought by a private relator in which the government declined to intervene. The Court’s decision in Hunt should bring sorely needed clarity to a question that has deeply divided the federal courts of appeals.
The Supreme Court Will Review the Eleventh Circuit’s Interpretation of 31 U.S.C. § 3731(b)(2)
The FCA’s statute of limitations provision, 31 U.S.C. § 3731(b), states that a civil action may not be brought under the FCA:
- more than 6 years after the date on which the violation of section 3729 is committed, or
- more than 3 years after the date when facts material to the right of action are known or should have been known by the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act in the circumstances, but in no event more than 10 years after the date on which the violation is committed,
whichever occurs last.
The specific question presented in Hunt is whether § 3731(b)(2), which operates as a tolling provision to the six-year limitations period of § 3731(b)(1), applies to FCA actions brought by a relator in which the government declined to intervene, and if so, whether the government’s knowledge or the relator’s knowledge is the relevant trigger for the limitations period.Continue Reading Supreme Court Agrees to Resolve Circuit Split on FCA Statute of Limitations
Matt Curley Provides Insight on Supreme Court’s Refusal to Weigh In on Pleading of FCA Suits
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Matt Curley provided insight to Law360 for an article analyzing the Supreme Court’s decision to deny certiorari concerning a case that may have addressed the discrepancies surrounding how False Claims Act (FCA) suits are pleaded. There is currently a split within the federal appellate courts regarding how the heightened pleading requirements of Rule 9(b) should be applied to FCA claims.
Continue Reading Matt Curley Provides Insight on Supreme Court’s Refusal to Weigh In on Pleading of FCA Suits
Bass, Berry & Sims Releases Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review 2017
Bass, Berry & Sims is pleased to announce the release of its sixth annual Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review 2017. The Review, compiled by the firm’s Healthcare Fraud Task Force, is an in-depth and comprehensive review of enforcement settlements, court decisions and developments affecting the healthcare industry.
The Review details all healthcare-related False Claims Act settlements from last year, organized by particular sectors of the healthcare industry. In addition to reviewing all healthcare fraud-related settlements, the Review includes updates on enforcement-related litigation involving the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute and looks at the continued implications from the government’s focus on enforcement efforts involving individual actors in connection with civil and criminal healthcare fraud investigations.Continue Reading Bass, Berry & Sims Releases Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review 2017
U.S. Attorneys for the Middle, Eastern and Western Districts of Tennessee Speak at Nashville Healthcare Fraud Conference
Bass, Berry & Sims and the Tennessee Hospital Association recently sponsored the Nashville Healthcare Fraud Conference, a full-day seminar offering insight into fraud and abuse enforcement issues within the healthcare industry. Panel discussions were focused on providing practical tips and takeaways for preparing for, responding to and resolving a healthcare fraud investigation. A variety of
FCA Deeper Dive: FCA Retaliation Claims
The FCA provides protections for whistleblowers in connection with their whistleblowing activities. To establish that an employer retaliated against an employee in violation of 31 U.S.C. § 3730(h), an employee must demonstrate that:
- The employee engaged in protected activity.
- The employer knew that the employee was engaged in protected activity.
- As a result of the above, the employee was discriminated against.
Definition of FCA Retaliation “Protected Activity”
Prior to 2009, “protected activity” was defined as employee conduct “in furtherance of an action under this section, including investigation for, initiation of, testimony for, or assistance in an action filed or to be filed under this section.”Continue Reading FCA Deeper Dive: FCA Retaliation Claims
Learn Why Healthcare Executives Use Bass, Berry & Sims for Fraud & Abuse Issues [VIDEO]
Over the past five years, recoveries from False Claims Act cases have surpassed $22 billion, with more than half coming from the healthcare industry alone. Our attorneys help companies from all sectors of healthcare navigate enforcement and compliance issues related to Healthcare Fraud and Abuse. Watch this video to find out why healthcare executives nationwide