Federal Health Law Enforcement in 2025

Much has been written about the healthcare policy changes implemented by the 2025 Trump administration. President Trump has issued numerous Executive Orders that establish new policies and rescind actions taken by previous administrations. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is overhauling and refocusing Health & Human Services. Dr. Mehmet Oz is implementing new policies at the Center …

NY Doctor Indicted for Medicare Fraud Related to Genetic Testing and Equipment

The government is continuing to take a close look at laboratory testing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 21, 2024, a federal grand jury in New Jersey issued a superseding indictment against a New York physician. The indictment claims the physician committed healthcare fraud and conspired to defraud the United States by …

False Claims Act “Knowledge” Is a Subjective Standard

The Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”) allows private parties to bring lawsuits in the name of the federal government against defendants who allegedly “knowingly” present a false claim to the government for payment.  The question for courts has been what standard should be applied to evaluate a defendant’s “knowledge.”  The US Supreme Court recently clarified …

Supreme Court Issues Ruling on the Requisite Intent for False Claims Act Defendants

Originally published in Healthcare Michigan, Volume 40,  No. 7 A recent decision by the Supreme Court clarified the required intent for a defendant to be held liable under the False Claims Act.  According to the Court, the FCA’s scienter requirement refers to a defendant’s knowledge and subjective beliefs – not what an objectively reasonable person might have known …

A Review of Key 2018 False Claims Act Recoveries and Developments

A summary of the article “A Review of Key 2018 False Claims Act Recoveries and Developments,” which first appeared in Physicians Practice. In December, the Department of Justice announced that it recovered more than $2.8 billion in False Claims Act judgments and settlements for fiscal year 2018. The largest settlements involved pharmaceutical companies: AmerisourceBergen Corporation, …