In U.S. ex rel. Sonyika v. ApolloMD, Inc. et al., 2021 WL 1222379 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 31, 2021), a Georgia federal court allowed a relator’s Amended Complaint alleging a fraudulent scheme involving improper billing for services rendered by Advanced Professional Practitioners (APP) in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Georgia-equivalent to proceed. The
Biden Administration Orders $15 Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors
On April 27, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors performing service, construction or concession contracts to pay a $15 minimum wage to those employees who are working on such contracts.
As noted in the White House Fact Sheet, this EO will build on Executive Order 13658 (signed in February 2014),
Stark Law 2020 Settlements Return to Pre-2019 Trend
RELATED UPDATE: CMS Streamlines Stark Law Self-Disclosures (March 8, 2023)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced 2020 settlements concerning past violation or potential violations of the physician self-referral law (the Stark Law) and the number and value of such settlements have returned to the pre‑2019 trends. The 2020 settlements based on
The Perils of Pleading the Fifth in the Corporate Fraud Context
“Pleading the Fifth” is one of the most commonly known phrases in the U.S. legal system, and the right against self-incrimination is one of the Constitution’s most meaningful protections. That said, the costs and risks of exercising that right in the corporate fraud context may outweigh the benefits.
To learn about some of the limits
Sixth Circuit Affirms Jury Criminal Conviction in Federal Healthcare Kickback Scheme
In a recent opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the court analyzed several alleged points of error from a criminal jury trial about a healthcare kickback scheme. See United States v. Trumbo, No. 20-1393, __ F. App’x __, 2021 WL 957337 (6th Cir. March 15, 2021). The opinion is
U.S. Attorney’s Office Settles with Urgent Care Providers to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations Related to Credentialing Issues
On April 8, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced a $22.5 million settlement with a network of urgent care providers, Doctors Care, P.A. (Doctors Care), and its management company, UCI Medical Affiliates of South Carolina, Inc. (UCI), for alleged False Claims Act (FCA) violations.
Request to File Amended Complaint for Fraud Rejected for Failure to Allege Facts with Particularity
After granting defendants’ motion to dismiss and dismissing plaintiff’s action with prejudice, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina recently denied relator’s motion to alter or amend the judgment and file an amended complaint alleging Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) and False Claims Act (“FCA”) violations. Central to the court’s decision to deny
Michael Podberesky Discusses Circuit Split on FCA’s False Statement Standard
In an April 7, 2021, interview with Federal News Network, Washington, D.C., partner Michael Podberesky discussed how federal contractors are impacted by the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions denying two petitions for writs of certiorari, thereby declining to resolve a circuit court split regarding the False Claims Act’s standard for pleading and proving the
NSCAI Recommends $40 Billion Investment in Artificial Intelligence, R&D and Innovation
Congress stood-up the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) to make recommendations to the President and Congress “to advance the development of artificial intelligence [AI], machine learning, and associated technologies … to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States.” The 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Section 1051 further
Rural FQHC Can Provide Free Space for COVID-19 Vaccinations
As previously discussed, on April 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a process for inquiries to be submitted to OIG about whether administrative enforcement discretion would be provided for certain arrangements directly connected to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). OIG established this process to