In U.S. ex rel. Wolfson v. Park Avenue Medical Associates, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York entered into a $1 million False Claims Act settlement against three related companies for improperly billing Medicare for behavioral health services.  The settlement agreement provided that the defendants “admit, acknowledge and accept responsibility for” (1) billing Medicare for

Continue Reading Admission of Wrongdoing Requirement May Make SDNY Less Attractive to Qui Tam Relators

Earlier this month, a bill to amend the False Claims Act (“FCA”), the “Fairness in Health Care Claims, Guidance and Investigations Act,” was introduced in the House of Representatives.  According to one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), the bill’s purpose is to ensure that unintentional billing disputes are not penalized as fraud.

Some parts of the

Continue Reading Proposed “Fairness” Amendments to the False Claims Act

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice announced that it had recovered nearly $5 billion in settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act in fiscal year 2012.  The $4.959 billion figure was a new record for a single year, eclipsing the previous one-year record by $1.7 billion.

In breaking down the $5 billion in recoveries, Acting Associate Attorney General

Continue Reading Department of Justice Announces Record-Setting Year of False Claims Act Recoveries