The Sixth Circuit recently became the first appellate court to consider and reject FCA liability based on a healthcare provider’s alleged false attestation of compliance with the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) Act’s meaningful use objectives. U.S. ex rel. Sheldon v. Kettering Health Network, 2016 WL 861399 (6th Cir. March 7, 2016). The HITECH Act was designed to encourage the adoption of Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology by healthcare providers through the creation of incentive payments for eligible providers. As a condition of receiving those incentive payments, the HITECH Act requires healthcare providers to meet meaningful use objectives and compliance measures concerning the adoption of EHR technology.
Continue Reading Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of FCA Action Related to HITECH Meaningful Use Payments
Bass, Berry & Sims
FCA Implications of the CMS Final Rule on Overpayments
By Bass, Berry & Sims on
Posted in Reverse False Claims
On February 11, 2016, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule on the reporting and return of overpayments within 60 days, an obligation commonly known as the “60-day rule.” The final CMS rule, which relates to Medicare Part A and Part B only, eases some of the requirements for healthcare providers and suppliers compared to what CMS originally proposed four years ago. Given that the failure to timely report an overpayment can lead to False Claims Act (FCA) exposure, the final rule has significant FCA implications for healthcare providers.
Under the “reverse false claim” provision of the FCA, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1)(G), liability can exist when a provider or supplier “knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the Government.” An “obligation” includes the retention of any overpayment. The Affordable Care Act explicitly states that the 60-day rule is an “obligation” for purposes of the FCA.Continue Reading FCA Implications of the CMS Final Rule on Overpayments