Our Firm in the News
Outlook 2012: Compliance Officers Should Prepare for Long, Strange Trip in Year Ahead
Report on Medicare Compliance
January 16, 2012
In its annual “Outlook” issue, Report on Medicare Compliance interviewed Nolan Auerbach partner Jeb White about the emerging trends and concerns in Medicare fraud. Mr. White commented on the Justice Department’s increased interest in qui tam actions that solely allege kickback schemes. “In the past, DOJ [was] hesitant to get involved in pure kickback cases,” explained Mr. White. Now, DOJ is interested even when a case involves kickbacks alone, because the health reform law made kickbacks a per se False Claims Act violation, noted Mr. White.
Experts: Increased Individual Fraud Prosecutions, RAC Expansion on Tap for 2012
BNA Health Care Fraud Report
January 11, 2012
Every January, Bloomberg BNA asks the country’s leading healthcare attorneys to predict the emerging issues for the coming year. For the past five years, this respected publication has sought the qui tam perspective from Nolan Auerbach partner, Jeb White. This year, Mr. White was quoted nearly a dozen times, spotlighting such trends as increased False Claims Act litigation, targeted exclusions from government healthcare programs, and expanded RAC initiatives. “Time will tell if OIG is merely saber rattling when it comes to exercising its authority to exclude individual providers,” White said. “For the sake of our country’s limited healthcare dollars, the fraud-fighting community hopes that OIG hangs a few coyotes on the fence, sending a powerful message to the dishonest providers lurking under the radar.”
10 Things Medicare Won’t Tell You
Smartmoney.com
December 20, 2011
As the so-called “baby boomer generation” ages into Medicare, the monetary impact of healthcare fraud escalates. This worsening financial maelstrom has caught the eye of the news media. Smartmoney.com turned to Nolan Auerbach partner Kenneth Nolan for a primer on some of the common Medicare fraud schemes. One of the costliest Medicare fraud schemes involves pharmaceutical or medical technology companies “knowingly selling unsafe or ineffective pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, devices and other technologies,” said Mr. Nolan. “Medicare is susceptible to fraud not only because of its size and complexity, but because the system itself makes it easy to defraud the government,” stressed Mr. Nolan. “Most of the scrutiny, if any, is made after payment is made — not before as in traditional business transactions.”
U.S. Supreme Court Declines Review of Case on Liability for Causing False Claims
BNA Healthcare Fraud Report
December 11, 2011
In each of the last five years, the U.S. Supreme Court has released opinions dissecting the False Claims Act. Given this track record, many experts were surprised when the Court refused to hear a case discussing the interplay between the federal Anti-kickback Act and the federal False Claims Act. Nolan Auerbach partner Jeb White explained to BNA, “Upon close inspection, the Supreme Court realized that the so-called circuit split had really been conjured up by the petitioners.” According to Mr. White, “the Supreme Court cemented the First Circuit’s holding that entities that pay kickbacks are liable under the False Claims Act for the resulting false claims.” His analysis was widely parroted by other healthcare law experts.
New Texas Laws Fix Loopholes After Retaliation Against Two Nurses
Report on Medicare Compliance
October 24, 2011
Given the success of the federal False Claims Act, a number of states have fashioned laws that borrow language from the Act’s whistleblower provisions. For example, when two nurse-whistleblowers were retaliated against in the State of Texas, legislators pushed through anti-retaliation provisions that restored protections for those who report dishonest healthcare providers. Report on Medicare Compliance reported on this development and reached out to Nolan Auerbach partner, Jeb White, who has testified before state legislative bodies across the country. Mr. White noted that “Texas is taking a page from the False Claims Act.” He recounted that “people started stepping forward and shining the light” on fraud after the U.S. Congress similarly strengthened the federal False Claims Act.
Patient Complaint Triggers DOJ Settlement with Kentucky Hospital
Report on Medicare Compliance
August 1, 2011
Industry publications turned to Nolan Auerbach partner, Jeb White to explain an unusual False Claims Act settlement that originated with a single Medicare beneficiary whistleblower. Mr. White explained that this scenario is “very unusual,” for the vast majority of healthcare cases come from whistleblowers who are behind the corporate walls of dishonest healthcare providers. With that being said, Mr. White hoped that this became a trend, for “[t]he more eyes you have out there looking for potential fraud, the less likely the fraud is going to happen.”
Third Circuit Reinstates Kickback Claim Against Medicare Managed Care Plans
BNA Health Care Fraud Report
July 13, 2011
For nearly two decades, the national healthcare whistleblower firm Nolan Auerbach has fought to recover government healthcare dollars infected by illegal kickback schemes. This long-standing track record has placed the firm on the radar screen of industry publications. For example, a leading healthcare publication sought out Nolan Auerbach partner Jeb White after a federal court of appeals held that a Medicare Managed Care Plan can be held liable under the False Claims Act for paying illegal kickbacks to physicians and beneficiaries. Mr. White applauded the court for correctly interpreting the reach of False Claims Act’s liability provisions.
A ‘Game Changing’ Ruling for Whistleblowers
Pharmalot
June 3, 2011
At a recent national conference on qui tam litigation, a high-ranking Justice Department official stressed, “You would be hard pressed to find anyone who knows more about the False Claims Act than [Nolan Auerbach partner] Jeb White.” Reporters took note, for they have increasingly turned to Mr. White for his expertise on emerging False Claims Act trends. For example, leading industry publication Pharmalot turned to Mr. White when an influential court held that False Claims Act is violated when pharmaceutical and device makers pay kickbacks to physicians, even when a hospital or pharmacy was unaware that the resulting prescription was tainted by kickbacks. Mr. White maintained that this was a “game changing” decision for False Claims Act enforcement. Since then, government and qui tam attorneys have regularly cited this landmark court decision.
The Prosecution of Pharma Gets Personal
Nature Medicine
April 1, 2011
In September 2010, Nature Medicine asked Jeb White to tackle the number one issue undermining government healthcare programs. In a widely-circulated Op-ed piece, Mr. White opined that pharmaceutical fraud was a continuing drain on government healthcare programs because the masterminds of the frauds steal with impunity and never face jail time. In a follow-up April 2011 article, Nature credited Mr. White’s Op-ed piece for spotlighting this enforcement blind spot. Since then, a number of government officials have echoed these arguments in the halls of Congress.
Fifth Circuit Reinstates Claims Against Caremark In Medicaid False Claims Act Case
BNA Health Care Fraud Report
March 9, 2011
The False Claims Act legal landscape has changed dramatically since 2009, principally because of recent clarifying legislation. To help guide readers through this evolving terrain, healthcare fraud reporters regularly turn to Nolan Auerbach partner Jeb White, who shepherded the legislation through Congress as the president of Taxpayers Against Fraud. BNA Health Care Fraud Report reached out to Mr. White after the Fifth Circuit ruled that the False Claims Act’s “reverse false claim” provision could be violated by a Pharmacy Benefit Manager. Here, Mr. White spotlighted the far-reaching impact this decision could have on the healthcare industry, particularly since a large percentage of pharmaceuticals are now handled by Pharmacy Benefit Managers.
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