Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that the federal government recovered $2.6 billion in health care fraud matters in 2013. It was the fourth straight year that the department recovered more than $2 billion in cases involving health care fraud. Only days ago, a federal task force charged 90 people, including 27 doctors, nurses, and other health care providers, with generating $260 million in fraudulent Medicare billings.
Clearly, the government has ramped up its enforcement of health care fraud cases, the vast majority of them filed under the False Claims Act. This increased enforcement has coincided with the 2010 enactment of the Affordable Care Act, which includes a number of anti-fraud provisions.
These issues will be front and center at the American Bar Association's upcoming conference on the False Claims Act. The 10th Annual National Institute on Civil False Claims Act and Qui Tam Enforcement will take place June 4 – 6 in Washington, D.C.
Our colleague Claire Schenk, a business litigation partner and veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice, will be a featured speaker at the event. In her June 5 session, "Recent Developments on Damages and Penalties," panelists will focus on the calculation and proof of FCA damages, particularly in cases where the damages are not easily ascertainable, as well as the assessment of civil penalties. The panel will also discuss the effects of United States ex rel. Bunk v. Gosselin World Wide Moving, a Fourth Circuit decision on the relationship between government loss and penalties.
If you are interested in following this subject and may want to attend this ABA conference, click here for more details and the full agenda on this event. Thompson Coburn LLP is a proud sponsor of Thursday evening's reception and we look forward to seeing you there.
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