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A federal district court in the Middle District of Florida issued a decision on Sept. 30th that threatens the federal government’s continued reliance on the False Claims Act (“FCA”) as the most powerful weapon in the Department of Justice’s enforcement arsenal. U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle threw out a case against a group of Medicare Advantage organizations and providers on the grounds that an individual whistleblower suing on behalf of the federal government under the FCA, often called a “relator” in a “qui tam” lawsuit, violates the U.S. Constitution’s “appointments clause.” The Court concluded that relators, who are acting on behalf of the federal government, must be considered officers of the government and appointed in a manner consistent with Constitutional requirements. See U.S. ex rel Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates, LLC, No. 8:19-cv-1236, 2024 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176626, ECF No. 346 (M.D. Fl. Sept. 30, 2024).Continue Reading FCA Whistleblowers – No More?

The DOJ is empowered under the FCA to seek dismissal of unmeritorious qui tam suits brought in its name. The DOJ has historically used this power sparingly. We are happy to report, however, that more dismissals may be on the horizon.

On January 10, 2018, Michael Granston, Director of the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice circulated an internal memorandum that was published last week in the legal press. The memorandum collects cases in which the Department sought dismissal of unmeritorious qui tams. It categorizes these cases into seven factors that DOJ attorneys should consider when evaluating whether the government should seek to dismiss a qui tam.

Nearly all FCA recoveries against healthcare entities in the last three years came from cases filed by qui tam relators. In other words, of $7.3 billion recovered from healthcare entities in 2015-17, $6.9 billion of that originated from qui tam suits. The Department of Justice’s guidance is welcome news for healthcare entities as it will likely further stymie unmeritorious qui tam litigation.

The following article, “DOJ Formalizes Guidance for Government Dismissal of Unmeritorious Qui Tam Suits,” by Michael Paddock, David T. Fischer and Matthew Turetzky was previously posted on January 25, 2018, on the Sheppard Mullin False Claims Act Defense Blog.
Continue Reading The Department of Justice Delivers Some Good News to the Healthcare Industry: New False Claims Act Guidance Predicts More Challenges to Qui Tam Plaintiffs

As reported in earlier blogs, the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) has been actively looking into potential abuses by Medicare Advantage (MA) Organizations as to allegedly improper risk adjustment claims submissions and practices. Earlier this month, and as had been anticipated, the DOJ filed complaints-in-intervention against UnitedHealth Group, Inc., and related Medicare Advantage entities, in two False Claims Act qui tam lawsuits in United States ex rel. James Swoben v. Secure Horizons, et. al., and United States ex rel. Benjamin Poehling v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., et. al. Previously, the DOJ had announced its intent to intervene in both cases, as well as its intent to conduct “on-going investigations” of other potential defendants, including Health Net, Inc., Aetna, Inc., Bravo Health, Inc. (which is part of Cigna), and Humana, Inc.
Continue Reading Medicare Advantage Plans Under Fire: The Department of Justice Files Complaints-in-Intervention