False Claims Act settlements reach $750 million in first half of 2019

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced more than $750 million in settlements under the False Claims Act in the first half of this year, Los Angeles-based Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP reported in its annual mid-year False Claims Act report. That figure represents a slight uptick from this point in 2018, but is somewhat lower than first-year highs set in recent years. And, as has been the case in recent years, the Justice Department secured most of its False Claims Act recoveries from enforcement actions involving health care and life sciences entities.  Cases alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark Law, which generally prohibit various types of referral arrangements with health care providers, continued to predominate. Anti-Kickback Statute enforcement activity, in particular, included recoveries totaling nearly $250 million from pharmaceutical companies accused of unlawfully covering Medicare copays for their own products through charitable foundations. 

July 18, 2019