“Practice Group” Exception to Stark Law
The Stark Act, 42 USC Section 1395, includes a number of exceptions to the prohibition to the ownership and compensation arrangement described in my recent post. The evaluation and application of these exceptions can be a complex undertaking, thereby making a determination as to whether a particular arrangement is permitted by the Stark Law also complex. The exceptions include Section...
What is the Stark Law?
What is the Stark Law?
Congress enacted the Stark Law as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989. The Stark Law, 42 USC Section 1395nn, also referred to as the Physician Self–Referral Law, has certain prohibitions when a physician or member of his or her immediate family has a direct or indirect financial arrangement or relationship with an entity:
(1) First, the physician may...
Whistleblower Action under the Dodd-Frank Act
On August 21, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first whistleblower reward of nearly $50,000 under the provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.
The recipient, choosing to remain anonymous, provided the SEC with documents and other sources of information that helped to expedite the investigation of a multi-million dollar fraud scheme. The court ordered just over $1...
Underbidding and the False Claims Act
On August 2, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in United States ex rel. Hooper v. Lockheed Martin Corp., holding that underbidding on a $900 million government contract creates liability under the False Claims Act.
The ruling marks the first time a federal court of appeals has considered whether underbidding constitutes a violation under the qui tam...
Whistleblower Ethics (Why it is the right thing to do)
In its recently published report entitled “Inside the Mind of a Whistleblower,” the Ethics Resource Center (ERC) synthesizes data collected over the past decade, providing statistics and information on the behavior of whistleblowers in the U.S. The study examines a wide range of factors that influence employees who face the decision of whether or not to report wrongdoing in the...
Corporate Management and Fraud Against the Government
When major corporations are fined for defrauding the government, CEO’s aren’t the ones writing the checks.
Take, for example, three companies in the healthcare industry who have recently agreed to settlements in fraud cases:
Amgen, Inc. has set aside $780 million to settle a lawsuit involving illegal marketing practices, while Chairman and CEO Kevin Sharer is expected to receive...