On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected two petitions asking the justices to weigh in on a circuit court split regarding whether the False Claims Act requires objective falsity, or whether a differing expert opinion is sufficient to show fraud. The justices did not comment on the requests, filed by hospice operator Care Alternatives and health care management company RollinsNelson LTC Corp.
The question of objective falsity has split the courts, with the Eleventh Circuit finding in AseraCare that a difference of medical opinion cannot by itself demonstrate falsity under the FCA, while the Third Circuit in Care Alternatives held that a physician’s medical judgment can be considered a legal falsity, if that opinion is called into question by contrasting expert opinion.
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