As we have previously covered in a blog post dated August 25, 2021, the Senate is currently considering Senate Bill 2428, the False Claims Amendments Act of 2021 (FCAA), which would cause several significant changes that would make it more difficult for defendants in False Claims Act (FCA) cases. On October 28, 2021, Senate Judiciary Committee (Committee) considered the bill originally introduced by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in July of this year.
After a series of negotiations with other Republican senators, the Committee passed a new, amended version of the FCAA by a vote of 15-7. The Committee-approved bill was reported to the Senate on November 16, 2021. Even under the amended language passed by the Committee, the FCAA, if passed into law, will likely make FCA litigation cases more complex and costly than they already are.
As previously discussed on this blog, the FCAA’s most significant change is to alter the “rigorous” materiality standard set out by the U.S. Supreme Court in United Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar. Senator Grassley even stated before the Committee that the purpose of the FCAA was to “make very clear we don’t have to rely on different courts interpreting it a different way. These amendments will clarify misinterpretations created by the Escobar court, by clarifying what should already be common sense.”
Under Senator Grassley’s initial proposal, the government...
CLEVELAND — United States Attorney David Toepfer announced that a dentist in Cuyahoga County has agreed to a settlement that will cost $500,000 for false Medicaid claims. The settlement is part of...