Category: Healthcare

Eighth Circuit Determines that Compliance with Reasonable Interpretation of Government Regulation Sufficient to Avoid FCA Liability (Absent a Government Warning to the Contrary)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) establishes requirements for how medical procedures must be performed for a medical provider to seek payment for those procedures.  Seeking payment without properly performing the procedure might expose the provider to alleged liability under the False Claims Act (“FCA”).  But what if the requirements for the procedure are ambiguous?  Will a provider’s reasonable interpretation of a requirement...

Implied Certification, Escobar, and the Impact on Healthcare Providers

On June 16, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar upholding the “implied certification” theory of liability under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) but adopting a rigorous materiality standard for determining liability in such cases.  This case is a game changer.  For years, the government and plaintiffs have argued that the federal FCA...

Failure to Disclose Best Pricing: Pharmaceutical Companies Settle FCA Claims for $784 Million

The Department of Justice announced late last month that pharmaceutical manufacturers Wyeth and Pfizer would pay $784 million to resolve a False Claims Act investigation and qui tam lawsuit arising from Wyeth’s failure to disclose its best pricing of drugs to the government.  The case was brought under the FCA’s qui tam provisions; the relators’ share of the recovery is nearly $100 million. The case...

Nashville Pharmacy Services, LLC Settles FCA Allegations

Last week the Department Of Justice announced a settlement agreement with Nashville Pharmacy Services, LLC (“NPS”) and NPS majority owner Kevin Hartman.  Under the agreement, NPS and Mr. Hartman will pay up to $7.8 million to settle a lawsuit alleging violations of the False Claims Act.  The settlement agreement does not include any admission of liability on the part of NPS or Mr. Hartman. On...

California Court Permits FCA Claim Involving Medicare “Referral and Regeneration” Scheme to Proceed Against Healthcare CEO

In a recent opinion, the Northern District of California allowed FCA claims to proceed against the CEO of a skilled nursing facility operator.  John Orten, the whistleblower in the suit, was a former nursing home administrator for North American Health Care, Inc. (NAHC).  Orten claimed that he had witnessed the CEO of NAHC, John Sorensen, order company administrators to pay physicians who referred patients to...

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Settles $390MM FCA Allegations

Drugmaker Novartis Pharmaceuticals has agreed in principle to pay $390MM (including $20MM in civil forfeitures) to the Department of Justice.  This payment, in addition to modification and an extension of Novartis’s existing Corporate Integrity Agreement (“CIA”), settles claims that the company paid illegal kickbacks to specialty pharmacy companies in order to induce the pharmacies to recommend two drugs—Exjade and Myfortic—to their patients.  The Government sought...

Dialysis Provider Settles Whistleblower Lawsuit for $450 Million

The Department of Justice and dialysis provider DaVita Healthcare Partners recently finalized a $450 million agreement settling claims that the company intentionally inflated Medicare billings.  The parties had filed a joint motion to stay the case, United States ex rel. et al. v. DaVita Inc., No. 07-02509 (N.D. Ga. Apr. 16, 2015), in April in order to focus on reaching a settlement. Relators Alon Vainer...