Whistleblowers

California Case Shows Why Paying Specimen Collection Fees of Any Amount Are a Liability Risk

September 17, 2020

Paying physicians fees to collect and process patient samples for testing is a dicey proposition because it exposes labs to suspicion under the Stark and Anti-Kickback Statute laws. Such arrangements … [Read more...]

False Claims Act

Federal Appeals Court Tosses Cold Water on DOJ’s Crackdown on Weak Whistleblower Suits

September 4, 2020

It’s fair to say that when it comes to False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower qui tam lawsuits, the current U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is less enthusiastic than its predecessor. In fact, the DOJ … [Read more...]

Enforcement Trends

Granston Memo Whistleblower Dismissals May Be Tougher than DOJ Thought

September 3, 2020

In 2018, the Justice Department sent an internal memorandum ordering US Attorneys to aggressively seek to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower qui tam lawsuits that lack merit or don’t serve … [Read more...]

Labs In Court

Whistleblower Can Sue Lab for Alleged Specimen Fee Kickback Collection Ripoff

September 3, 2020

Case: A whistleblower filed a False Claims Act suit charging a California lab of entering into “sham phlebotomy contracts” paying kickbacks to physicians’ family members and staff in the form of … [Read more...]

Labs In Court

Connecticut Methadone Clinic Settles Urine Drug Test False Billing Charges for $345.3K

August 29, 2020

Case: A methadone clinic settled claims of overbilling the Connecticut Medicaid Program for urine drug tests for $354,367. Under state rules, methadone clinics receive a bundled weekly per patient … [Read more...]

Enforcement Trends

Granston Memo Whistleblower Dismissals May Be Tougher than DOJ Thought

August 29, 2020

In 2018, the Justice Department sent an internal memorandum ordering US Attorneys to aggressively seek to dismiss False Claims Act (FCA) whistleblower qui tam lawsuits that lack merit or don’t serve … [Read more...]

Compliance Alert 

Be Sure You Can Document Medical Necessity of COVID-19 ‘Add-On Tests’

August 4, 2020

Memo to Lab Compliance Managers: Brace yourself for what may become the next big federal false billing crackdown against labs, specifically labs performing COVID-19 tests. The OIG has let it be known … [Read more...]

Compliance Alert

OIG Targets COVID-19 Test Labs for Potential Add-on Testing Abuses

July 20, 2020

Are labs taking advantage of the unprecedented demand for COVID-19 testing to bill Medicare for high reimbursing and medically unnecessary add-on tests? That’s what the OIG suspects and it plans to … [Read more...]

Case of the Month

Feds Launch First COVID-19 Testing Fraud Prosecution

July 3, 2020

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. The DOJ has charged a publicly traded Silicon Valley med tech firm and its CEO with touting a sham finger stick blood test to defraud payors and rip off … [Read more...]

Labs In Court

A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry

June 3, 2020

Whistleblower Lawsuit Can’t Start Until Criminal Investigation Ends  Case: Two former MedComp Laboratory Sciences employees filed a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the lab of concocting an elaborate … [Read more...]


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