Aspen Dental, one of the nation’s largest dental service organizations (DSOs), recently settled charges alleging violations of California’s corporate practice of medicine (CPOM) and unfair competition laws. This was not the first time similar charges had been lodged against Aspen Dental; in 2015, it entered into a settlement with the New York Attorney General after
DOJ Announces New Measures to Promote Meritorious Qui Tam Actions Targeting Fraud Against Benefits Programs
On May 27, in furtherance of the March 16, 2026 Executive Order on Eliminating Fraud, Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate issued a memo titled “Accelerating Review and Enhancing Enforcement in Benefits Fraud Matters.” The Memo announced new measures by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to strengthen False Claims Act (FCA) enforcement…
Medicaid Provider Freebies Create Risk, Per OIG
Health care providers may want to offer free or discounted services to help patients, and that instinct may be good. Most providers, however, don’t think of “free care” as a kickback issue in the same way they might think about gifts or rewards as a kickback issue. They should, because the Office of Inspector General…
OIG Opinion: Free Orthodontic Services Did Not Trigger AKS Risk
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently issued a favorable Advisory Opinion (No. 26-09) regarding certain free treatment that would be offered to patients of a pediatric dental clinic. Specifically, the clinic planned to offer free comprehensive orthodontic treatment to one select patient per year.
As a general…
DOJ Launches New FCA Initiative
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced a new initiative to enhance its working relationship with data miners who bring cases as whistleblowers under the False Claims Act (FCA). The initiative is dubbed “FOCUS,” an acronym for Fraud Oversight through Careful Use of Statistics.
There has been a sharp increase in qui tam complaints…
Overview of the Federal IDR Process
[Note: On May 28, HHS finalized new regulations on the IDR process, and the post below is now out of date. We’ll have more on the new regs shortly.]
The No Surprises Act (NSA), enacted in 2020, was designed to protect patients from unexpected medical bills in certain healthcare settings. The law primarily applies when…
NJ Pharmacy Exec Jailed for Kickback Scheme
Adam Brosius, a former pharmacy executive, was recently sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $33 million in restitution and $27 million in forfeiture.
Brosius was the director and then the president of Main Avenue Pharmacy, a mail-order pharmacy based in Clifton, New Jersey. He orchestrated a complex kickback scheme in which…
Examining AI in Health Care: A Review of Key Strategic, Legal, and Regulatory Considerations
On Thursday, May 28, in the next installment of Rivkin Radler’s Health Law Executive Briefings, Ashley Algazi and Tim Gonzalez will present “Examining AI in Health Care: A Review of Key Strategic, Legal, and Regulatory Considerations.”
As AI technologies become more integrated into clinical, operational, and administrative functions, health care providers and their advisors face…
FDA Approves Lilly’s Oral GLP-1 Therapy for Obesity
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Eli Lilly and Company’s oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, Foundayo (orforglipron), for chronic weight management in adults with obesity or those who are overweight with at least one weight-related condition.
The approval introduces a new oral treatment option in a space that has been largely dominated by…
House Ways & Means Hears Testimony on Home Health Fraud
On April 21, in a “Hearing on Protecting Patients and Taxpayers: Cracking down on Medicare Fraud,” the House Ways & Means Committee received testimony on hospice and home health fraud from Sheila Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association,[1] and Chris Deery, the Director of Corporate Fraud…
Understanding Medicare Revalidation Requirements
In accordance with 42 C.F.R. § 424.515, all healthcare providers participating in Medicare are required to periodically revalidate their enrollment records with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in order to maintain Medicare billing privileges. This routine process requires providers to confirm and, if necessary, update their enrollment information.
Revalidation generally occurs every…
