False Claims Act Insights explores how the U.S. government uses the False Claims Act (FCA) to stamp out fraud and corruption in government contracts. Each episode, Jonathan Porter, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and currently a partner with Husch Blackwell’s White Collar, Internal Investigations & Compliance team, chats with preeminent guests to provide listeners with an up-to-date understanding of the FCA, including trends in recent litigation and compliance efforts. The show also explores those elements of the FCA that make it a uniquely powerful tool for the government against private business, including the Act’s utilization of whistleblowers and its qui tam provisions, as well as evolving theories of FCA liability that expand the boundaries of what the Act covers, including cybersecurity and so-called reverse FCA claims.
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False Claims Act Insights explores how the U.S. government uses the False Claims Act (FCA) to stamp out fraud and corruption in government contracts. Each episode, Jonathan Porter, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and currently a partner with Husch Blackwell’s White Collar, Internal Investigations & Compliance team, chats with preeminent guests to provide listeners with an up-to-date understanding of the FCA, including trends in recent litigation and compliance efforts. The show also explores those elements of the FCA that make it a uniquely powerful tool for the government against private business, including the Act’s utilization of whistleblowers and its qui tam provisions, as well as evolving theories of FCA liability that expand the boundaries of what the Act covers, including cybersecurity and so-called reverse FCA claims.
Bitter Pills: DOJ Targets Pharmacies for FCA Enforcement
False Claims Act Insights
28 minutes 37 seconds
5 months ago
Bitter Pills: DOJ Targets Pharmacies for FCA Enforcement
Host Jonathan Porter welcomes back to the show Husch Blackwell attorney Abe Souza to discuss False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement in the pharmacy context. Pharmacies face multiple pressures, from disruptive online enterprises that threaten brick-and-mortar profitability to heightened regulatory vigilance concerning opioids. As pharmacies contemplate how to tweak business models to operate more profitably, the risk of violating FCA provisions is something that compliance programs must consider carefully.
Our discussion kicks off with DOJ’s focus on opioids and its use of the FCA to accomplish its policy ends. As Abe explains, the FCA’s civil penalty model is sometimes preferred by prosecutors due to its clarity and its ability to generate civil penalties large enough to punish violators and deter future violations. Jonathan and Abe then explore two recent litigations involving FCA allegations against pharmacies to draw out some practical takeaways for pharmacy operations.
The conversation then pivots to consider fraudulent claims uncovered by the government, particularly concerning drugs that are, contrary to the claims filed, not dispensed. Government investigators have grown adept at using inventory records and supply chain analysis to reveal potential false claims, providing a relatively easy and scalable enforcement model for U.S. Attorneys to use in FCA cases.
To conclude, Jonathan and Abe discuss the hazards of aggressive marketing campaigns involving high-reimbursement drugs and discuss a recent criminal enforcement against a Kentucky pharmacist involving medicated pads, highlighting some practical tips for pharmacy operators to consider.
False Claims Act Insights
False Claims Act Insights explores how the U.S. government uses the False Claims Act (FCA) to stamp out fraud and corruption in government contracts. Each episode, Jonathan Porter, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney and currently a partner with Husch Blackwell’s White Collar, Internal Investigations & Compliance team, chats with preeminent guests to provide listeners with an up-to-date understanding of the FCA, including trends in recent litigation and compliance efforts. The show also explores those elements of the FCA that make it a uniquely powerful tool for the government against private business, including the Act’s utilization of whistleblowers and its qui tam provisions, as well as evolving theories of FCA liability that expand the boundaries of what the Act covers, including cybersecurity and so-called reverse FCA claims.
