Question of the Week — Will Healthcare Settlements Continue to Dominate False Claims Act Recoveries?

Recent blockbuster settlements continue past trends: healthcare fraud has so far this year dominated FCA recoveries. During the first half of 2019, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) secured over $750 million in settlements from False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases. And just past the mid-year point, total recoveries have nearly doubled due to a $700 million civil settlement ($1.4 billion total) entered on July 11th with opioid giant Reckitt Benckiser Group. Notable 2019 FCA settlements in the healthcare and pharmaceutical space include:

• • • Walgreens — settled in January for $273 million total
    • Inform Diagnostics — settled in February for $63.5 million
    • Greenway Health — settled in February for $57.25 million
    • Insys — settled in June for $225 million

Whistleblowers have been key to government efforts to hold fraudsters accountable for fraud and wrongdoing in the healthcare realm. In three of the four large settlements listed above, the lawsuits originated from claims brought to light by at least one whistleblower. Whistleblowers who bring FCA suits likewise shine a critically important light on fraud in areas other than healthcare — think procurement, grant programs, housing and mortgage, and even customs and tariffs — however, mid-year updates and year-end reports focused on the government’s FCA recoveries continually find that healthcare settlements make up the vast majority of total recoveries.

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READ MORE:

• Blowing the Whistle on Tariff Dodgers
• Catch of the Week – EHR Developer Greenway Health to Pay $57.25 Million to Settle FCA Allegations
• Catch of the Week – Inform Diagnostics
• Catch of the Week – Walgreens Pays Record $273 Million To Settle Three FCA Suits
• False Claims Act
• Fraud in Other Government Programs
• Government Contract Fraud
• Healthcare Whistleblowers Continue as Backbone of DOJ Recoveries: A Look at DOJ’s 2018 Fraud and FCA Statistics
• Housing & Mortgage Fraud
• Insys Therapeutics
• Question of the Week — Is DOJ’s Blockbuster $1.4 Billion Opioid Settlement Just the Tip of the Iceberg?

Tagged in: FCA Federal, Government Programs Fraud, Healthcare Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Pharma Fraud,