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The New “Seventh Element” of Compliance: Screening and Evaluating Employee Suitability!

The recently issued Resource Guide for Measuring Compliance Program Effectiveness, reconfigures the traditional formulation of the “Seven Elements of an Effective Compliance Program by making the “Screening and Evaluation of Employees, Physicians, Vendors and other Agents” an element unto itself – or the new “Seventh Element of Compliance!” The Resource Guide, a product of roundtable discussions […]

OIG Issues Final Rule Expanding Exclusion Authority

By Paul Weidenfeld January 23, 2017 On January 12, 2017, the Office of Inspector General published a final rule finalizing revisions to its exclusion authorities. The final rule makes changes to key definitions that could have a significant impact on providers by broadening the scope of their exclusion screening obligation and enhancing exclusion enforcement by […]

DOJ Announces $4.7B in FCA Recoveries: What Does It Mean?

DOJ Announces $4.7 billion in False Claims Act Recoveries By Paul Weidenfeld December 16, 2016 The “Third Best Year” in False Claims Act History? The Department of Justice announced earlier this week that FY 2016 was its third best year in “False Claims Act History” with recoveries of more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments. […]

OIG Imposes Record Penalties for Exclusion Violations

OIG Imposes Record $21.5 Million in Penalties for Exclusion Violations! The OIG imposed a record $21.5 million civil money penalties and restitution against an Ohio corporation that operates pharmacies and supermarkets in 34 states for exclusion violations involving the employment of excluded individuals and fulfilling prescriptions by excluded prescribers! The settlement alleged that the company filled […]

What Medical Practices Need to Know About an OIG Exclusion

By Paul Weidenfeld [1] The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has steadily increased its enforcement of OIG Exclusion violations since the issuance of its Special Advisory stressing the effect of an OIG Exclusion in May, 2013. Among other things, they have created a special unit to focus specifically on  Civil Money Penalties (CMPs) (its favored enforcement tool), supported numerous prosecutions […]

DOJ Doubles Down on False Claims Act Penalties!

  By Robert W. Liles.  August 3, 2016.  The False Claims Act is the primary civil enforcement tool utilized by the federal government in its fight against fraud generally, and, in particular, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud.[1]  Already an extraordinarily useful statute forgovernment prosecutors both in termsof ease of use and in terms of the penalties and damages that may […]