U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein promises an enforcement environment in which businesses can thrive. In a keynote address given at the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, he emphasized the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) commitment to “avoiding unnecessary interference in law-abiding enterprises.” Rosenstein’s reassurance to the business community also included an apparent slight to … Continue Reading
Effective training prepares healthcare providers to recognize violations of the anti-kickback and false claims statutes. However, a violation may seem just a straightforward business arrangement to those not familiar with the statutes. This article on the Squire Patton Boggs Anti-Corruption blog uses an example to explain that training must focus on remuneration, not just kickbacks.… Continue Reading
Board members for organizations of all sizes need to be familiar with the OIG’s recent publication of Practical Guidance for Health Care Governing Boards on Compliance Oversight. This informative guide is intended to assist the Board member of any health care organization fulfil compliance obligations with the myriad of health care laws and regulations. Although … Continue Reading
Recently, many stakeholders in the healthcare industry have expressed interest in implementing programs that provide funding to help patients with insurance premium payments. Until last week, it was unclear whether any type of premium assistance programs would be permissible under federal law. Finally, in Office of Inspector General (OIG) Advisory Opinion 13-19 posted on December … Continue Reading
On November 13, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory A. Presnell of the Middle District of Florida partially granted the U.S. government’s summary judgment motion against Halifax Hospital Medical Center (“Halifax”). Judge Presnell ruled that Halifax failed to demonstrate that bonus compensation arrangements it made with medical oncologists satisfied a Stark Law exception. Judge Presnell found … Continue Reading
In the September 2013 edition of the Cleveland Bar Journal, Colin Jennings and Tom Zeno described the government’s determination to challenge medical decision making as medically not necessary. To read the article, visit Uncle Sam Becomes a Doctor: Government Challenges to Medical Necessity. Recent prosecutions have been born out of their prediction. In October 2013, … Continue Reading
The price of compliance may be high, but the price of non-compliance is even higher. Based on its recent $3 million data breach settlement, AvMed, and many other entities that have experienced data breach litigation, would likely agree that paying for security upgrades now, is far superior to paying for data breaches later. In 2009, … Continue Reading
At first glance, Shands Healthcare’s (“Shands”) agreement to pay $26 million to the federal government and the State of Florida appears to be like all the other recently reported health care fraud settlements of whistleblower complaints. Upon closer inspection however, one significant difference stands out: the relator who initially brought the case against Shands was … Continue Reading
Shortly before Halloween of last year, a Squire Sanders healthcare client received an omen that all was not well – a Civil Investigative Demand (“CID”) served by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Broad, aggressive, and without identifying any pending legal complaint (CIDs usually don’t), the CID made a frighteningly lengthy list of demands … Continue Reading
