With the new administration, there appears to be a renewed commitment to enforcing anti-kickback rules against healthcare providers committing fraud against the government insurance programs. In July 2017, the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services announced the largest-ever fraud takedown in the health care arena. This article outlines the announcement, and what it may mean for the future of health care.
It has long been a topic of discussion among life science compliance professionals that when it comes to anti-kickback enforcement, the government favors prosecuting manufacturers and healthcare institutions over individual providers. The speculation was that those two categories were favored because of their deep pockets. However, that old rubric just may have changed.