Judges certify interlocutory appeals on causation standard
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Two federal judges in Massachusetts have certified interlocutory appeals asking the 1st Circuit to pick a side on the question of what causation standard applies to Medicare and other health care fraud claims alleging violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act.
In U.S. v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV denied the government’s motion for summary judgment on claims that the defendant improperly funneled millions of dollars to an alleged independent charitable foundation to subsidize patient copays for Eylea, a drug used to treat age-related macular degeneration.
The judge did so in part based on his holding that a “but for” standard of causation applied to those claims and that, under that standard, a fact issue existed as to whether Regeneron’s donations to the charity actually “resulted” in false claims within the meaning of the applicable statute.
On Oct. 25, Saylor issued an order certifying for interlocutory appeal to the 1st Circuit that portion of his Sept. 27 summary judgment decision addressing the applicable causation standard for the government’s claim.
In justifying his exercise of authority under 28 U.S.C. §1292(b) — which governs interlocutory appeals — Saylor first pointed to the fact that his holding on causation was in direct conflict with the recent holding of Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in another...
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