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DOJ Gives Major Shoutout To Whistleblowers In $450M DaVita False Claims Act Settlement

Posted 06/26/15

By Gordon Schnell On Wednesday, Denver-based provider of dialysis services DaVita Healthcare Partners, Inc. agreed to pay $450 million to resolve charges it violated the False Claims Act by purposely creating and then billing the government for unnecessary waste in administering the drugs Zemplar and Venofer to dialysis patients. DaVita is the largest provider of dialysis services in the US with dialysis clinics...

Tagged in: Dosage Fraud, FCA Federal, Lack of Medical Necessity, Medical Billing Fraud, Medicare, Pharma Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Hebrew Homes Health Network

Posted 06/19/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "catch of the week" goes to Hebrew Homes Health Network Inc., a Florida-based operator of rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities. On Tuesday, the company -- along with its former president and executive director William Zubkoff -- agreed to pay $17 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by improperly paying...

Tagged in: Anti-Kickback and Stark, Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, SNF,

Fourth Circuit Gives Expansive Read of False Claims Act Whistleblower Retaliation Protections

Posted 06/4/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team In its Young v. CHS Middle East, LLC decision last week, the Fourth Circuit provided an expanded view of the anti-retaliation protections afforded whistleblowers under the False Claims Act.* In doing so, it is one of the first courts of appeals to explicitly acknowledge the broadened whistleblower protections that follow from the False Claim Act amendments under the Fraud...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal,

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Orbit Medical/Rehab Medical

Posted 05/29/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "catch of the week" goes to Orbit Medical Inc. and its partial successor, Rehab Medical Inc. On Wednesday, these durable medical equipment suppliers agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle False Claims Act charges that Orbit submitted false claims to federal health care programs for power wheelchairs and accessories. See DOJ Press...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Medical Devices and DME,

DOJ Catch of the Week -- Health Management Associates

Posted 05/8/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "catch of the week" goes to Health Management Associates Inc. Yesterday, the hospital chain and 14 hospitals it previously owned and operated, along with 2 other hospitals, agreed to collectively pay $15.69 million to settle whistleblower charges they violated the False Claims Act by seeking and receiving Medicare reimbursement for Intensive...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Lack of Medical Necessity, Whistleblower Case,

Department of Defense Moves To Bar Anti-Whistleblower Confidentiality Provisions

Posted 02/12/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Not all companies have embraced the rise of whistleblowers as a vehicle to root out fraud within their ranks. In fact, many companies have gone in the exact opposite direction, doing everything they can to discourage whistleblowers from stepping forward. One popular mechanism a growing number of companies are using to silence would-be whistleblowers are so-called...

Tagged in: Defense Contract Fraud, Employment Issues, FCA Federal, Legislation and Regulation News, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program,

Fourth Circuit Joins Other Circuits In Narrow Read of Public Disclosure Bar

Posted 02/5/15

Under the False Claims Act, a whistleblower may be precluded from filing a qui tam lawsuit based on information that has already been publicly disclosed by another source. This so-called "public disclosure bar" is designed to weed out "parasitic" actions from those brought by whistleblowers with true inside knowledge of fraud. There has been some disagreement among the courts as to how "public" a disclosure must...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Public Disclosure and Public Information, Whistleblower Case,

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Institute For Cardiovascular Excellence

Posted 01/9/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team This week's Department of Justice "catch of the week" goes to Florida cardiologist, Dr. Asad Qamar, and his physician group, the Institute for Cardiovascular Excellence. On Monday, the DOJ intervened in two whistleblower lawsuits alleging Qamar and his group billed Medicare for medically unnecessary peripheral artery interventions and paid kickbacks to patients by waiving...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, FCA Federal, Lack of Medical Necessity, Provider Fraud, Whistleblower Case,

Fifth Circuit Finds Government Knowledge Defense Not Appropriate On Motion To Dismiss

Posted 01/8/15

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team Under the so-called "government knowledge" defense, the government's awareness of a fraud can defeat False Claims Act liability on the ground the defendant did not "knowingly" defraud the government since the government acted with full information. It is not a statutory defense but merely a way for a defendant to rebut the intent (or scienter) element of a False Claims Act...

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Court Decision, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Knowledge,

Sixth Circuit Finds Job Applicants Not Covered By FCA Whistleblower Retaliation Provisions

Posted 12/4/14

By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team The whistleblower retaliation provisions of the False Claims Act offer broad relief to "employees" who are terminated, suspended, harassed or otherwise discriminated against by their employers for engaging in protected whistleblowing activity. Congress amended the statute in 2009 to expand these provisions beyond employees to also reach "contractors" and "agents" of a...

Tagged in: Court Decision, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Protection Laws,

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DOJ Gives Major Shoutout To Whistleblowers In $450M DaVita False Claims Act Settlement

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Hebrew Homes Health Network

Fourth Circuit Gives Expansive Read of False Claims Act Whistleblower Retaliation Protections

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Orbit Medical/Rehab Medical

DOJ Catch of the Week -- Health Management Associates

Department of Defense Moves To Bar Anti-Whistleblower Confidentiality Provisions

Fourth Circuit Joins Other Circuits In Narrow Read of Public Disclosure Bar

DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Institute For Cardiovascular Excellence

Fifth Circuit Finds Government Knowledge Defense Not Appropriate On Motion To Dismiss

Sixth Circuit Finds Job Applicants Not Covered By FCA Whistleblower Retaliation Provisions

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