Following the release of the firm’s annual Healthcare Fraud and Abuse Review, Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Matt Curley provided insight to FierceHealthcare about the outlook for healthcare fraud enforcement in 2019. Against the backdrop of on-going changes at DOJ and HHS, Matt pointed out in the article, “for healthcare providers, it’s important to realize that uncertainty doesn’t necessarily mean there will be significant changes in the enforcement environment. Fraud enforcement has always been good business for the government.”
Matt referenced the DOJ’s Brand Memo as one of the important changes in 2018 related to healthcare fraud enforcement, “developments in the memo are significant for providers because defense attorneys have long argued enforcement under the False Claims Act must be based on alleged violations of applicable legal requirements … not merely on alleged noncompliance with guidance.”
The full article, “Uncertainty Surrounds Healthcare Fraud Enforcement. Here Are Some Trends to Watch in 2019,” was published by FierceHealthcare on February 1, 2019, and is available online.