False Claims Act
Our team regularly defends and wins False Claims Act (FCA) cases across the country. We often convince the government not to intervene in litigation, scoring victories for our clients before they step into a courtroom. Our lawyers have litigated FCA disputes in nearly every state, and the DOJ well-knows Foley’s reputation for credibility and rigor. Our practitioners routinely are called upon to lead conferences and presentations alongside government officials and regulators, and the group and individuals routinely receive sought-after rankings, including Chambers recognition.
Our Approach
Foley’s decades of FCA experience spans all types of cases, industries, and theories. Whatever the allegations, Foley will bring experienced practitioners to defend the case effectively. We provide upfront compliance counseling, work tirelessly to allay or resolve any government concerns, and, when it is called for, our seasoned trial attorneys and former prosecutors vigorously defend our clients in court.
Several of Foley’s False Claim Act attorneys previously worked as civil and criminal Assistant U.S. Attorneys, handling FCA cases for the government, and one of our FCA attorneys is a former U.S. Attorney. Two of our lawyers were invited by the DOJ to contribute to FCA policy.
Foley was named as one of the top 10 most active False Claims Act (FCA) defense firms in Lex Machina‘s 2021 False Claims Litigation Report. The report, which analyzes the latest FCA trends and insights, focused on litigation in federal district court from 2016-2020. In that time frame, Foley defended many public, unsealed cases (not including the dozens of non-public FCA matters Foley handled during this time frame) in over a dozen district courts, including the most active districts in the country. Foley has handled many more FCA cases since, continuing to advocate for and defend our clients in this active area of government enforcement and whistleblower reporting.
Experience
Foley has extensive experience representing government contractors and recipients of government grant dollars, as well as a breadth of experience representing health care industry participants.
Health Care and Life Sciences
Foley’s False Claims Act Health Care Group is a cross-disciplinary team with extensive experience in counseling and investigating FCA matters and defending qui tam and government-initiated FCA cases, combining deep strength in litigating FCA claims with market-leading, substantive knowledge in health care issues.
To prevent FCA cases from taking hold, our litigators team with our health care regulatory attorneys to provide counseling on billing and compliance issues in all types of matters, including anti-kickback statutes, safe harbors, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, pending legislation, and the Stark Law, as well as other federal and state FCA-related issues.
Foley’s extensive FCA experience in the health care and life sciences space has included substantial work for ambulance/EMS providers; health systems, hospitals and physician groups; hospice, skilled-nursing, and home health care providers; managed care providers and participants; medical device, DME, and pharmaceutical industry participants; and providers of telemedicine, digital health, and electronic health records (EHR).
Ambulance/EMS. For decades, Foley has represented among the country’s largest emergency medical service providers. Foley know the unique payment rules and structures for these providers and has successfully defended numerous FCA claims involving them.
Health Systems, Hospitals & Physician Groups. Foley regularly assists hospitals and physicians of all types — health systems and independent, nonprofit and for profit — in responding to a range of FCA allegations, including claims concerning compensation arrangements (e.g., arising under the Anti-Kickback Statute or Stark Law), billing practices, relationships with vendors, and medical necessity.
Hospice, Skilled-Nursing, and Home Health Care. Varying payment models exist for providers in post-acute and other non-hospital settings. Through its long experience working with such providers in more than just FCA cases, Foley knows how to defend FCA claims lodged against hospice, skilled nursing, home-health, and similar providers.
Laboratories, Diagnostics, and Remote Monitoring. Foley has handled a number of FCA cases for labs and other diagnostic and monitoring companies. As health-tech companies and personalized medicine offer increasingly offer new, important tools, they also face novel FCA claims. Foley leverages its FCA experience to assist both established companies and newer ones to defeat these claims.
Managed Care. Among its managed care representations, Foley secured dismissal of one of the first-ever FCA cases against an Accountable Care Organization and has convinced DOJ to decline to intervene in other Medicare Advantage cases. As an increasing number of beneficiaries are covered by Medicare Advantage and other managed care programs, Foley is at the cutting edge of defending against novel FCA theories.
Medical Devices, DME, and Pharmaceuticals. The government and relators continue to use the FCA aggressively to assert kickback and other allegations against medical device, durable medical equipment (DME), and pharmaceutical makers. Foley has successfully defended against these aggressive approaches, and brings significant experience to counseling companies who work with an independent contractor sales force.
Telemedicine, Digital Health, and EHR. Foley is among the leading telemedicine and digital health firms in the country, with deeper subject matter experience than any other firm. This is critical as the government continues to focus enforcement efforts on telehealth, electronic health records, and other digital health providers. We have handled a substantial number of these cases, and no firm is better suited to defend these companies.
Other Recipients of Government Funding
Foley has the experience to navigate and defend your company against any type of FCA investigation or litigation. Our experience has included significant work on behalf of federal grant recipients, government contractors, and universities.
Federal Grants. Billions of dollars in federal grants flow each year to state and local governments as well as to for-profit and nonprofit organizations, creating the risk of FCA investigations. Foley has represented municipalities and all manner of grant recipients, protecting them from FCA exposure.
Government Contractors. Companies that do business with the government, or with prime contractors with flow-down federal contracting requirements, face significant risk of FCA allegations. Foley’s leading government contracting lawyers partner with Foley’s FCA team regularly to defend FCA investigations and suits.
Universities / Scientific Research Integrity. High-profile cases of fraud and misconduct in federally funded research by academic institutions are on the rise. Foley attorneys are leaders in research regulatory legal issues and are well known to key federal research sponsors such as NIH, DOD, and NSF. Foley has long experience defending universities and other recipients of federal research funds against FCA claims and other allegations.