Senator Grassley Introduces Long-Promised Proposed Amendments to the False Claims Act
On Monday, July 26, 2021, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced a bill titled “False Claims Amendments Act of 2021” aimed...
Fifth Circuit Declines to Take a Side in the FCA Circuit Split on DOJ’s...
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently rejected an argument advanced by two subsidiaries of a nationwide health...
Fifth Circuit Affirms DOJ’s Broad Authority to Dismiss Qui Tams Over Relators’ Objections, but...
On July 7, 2021, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court’s grant of the United States’ motion to dismiss—over the relator’s objection—two qui tams that challenged pharmaceutical patient support programs. While the court’s decision is consistent with those of other courts of appeal that have confirmed DOJ’s broad authority to dismiss qui tams over relators’ objections, the […]
Fifth Circuit Affirms Government’s Unilateral Dismissal of FCA Claims Despite Initially Declining to Intervene
A Fifth Circuit panel upheld a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas to grant the government’s dismissal of two qui tam actions under the False Claims Act in Texas, despite the government’s initial decision to not intervene. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the government had authority over the lawsuits […]
False Claims Act Cases in Home Health Sector
According to information in Bass Berry & Sims’ Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Settlements Database, home health providers have paid at least $422.6 million since 2012 to settle FCA allegations. This represents 51 different cases over the time period from 2012-2020. “There continues to be a lot of enforcement action around business development and marketing,” writes […]
D.C. Circuit Applies But-For Causation Standard, Weak Materiality Test to FCA Claims, While Concurrence...
On July 6, 2021, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court’s dismissal of the qui...
Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissed FCA Case against Walmart involving Opiate Prescription Allegations
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit dismissed a relator-pharmacist’s False Claim Act case, holding that the pharmacist's claims, largely based on...
DOJ Brings Flurry of False Claims Act Cases
The Biden Justice Department with its partner agencies are ramping up FCA enforcement efforts, and is preparing to implement an aggressive FCA program across healthcare, defense industries and other government contractors. The FCA stands as a major risk – businesses that depend on government business, including healthcare, defense and other contractors, have to address proactively […]
Nothing Personal: Southern District of New York Dismisses FCA Suit Against Foreign Entity on...
The Southern District of New York went back to basics in dismissing a relator’s False Claims Act suit last month, relying on legal grounds not common...
AKS Safe Harbor Defense Undermined by Missing Information in Agency Agreement; United States District...
The district court rejected the defendants’ affirmative defense of safe harbor in a whistleblower complaint alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants’ purchase of patient data from a community healthcare organization amounted to improper remuneration for referrals. The court agreed that the indirect referral generated by the provision of patient […]