Linda Baumann Comments on Increase in Prosecution Against Individuals in Health Care Fraud
A recent Bloomberg BNA article in the Health Care Daily Report “Former Tenet Executive Indicted in $400M Medicaid Kickback Scheme” describes an ongoing prosecution against a health care industry ex-executive as an example of the increase in government charges against individuals in corporate fraud cases.
Arent Fox Health Care partner Linda Baumann explains this rise is due to the Department of Justice’s 2015 directive (informally known as the Yates memo) that encouraged government attorneys to pursue cases against individuals involved in corporate fraud. As a result of the directive, Linda has seen “a ramp up of health care fraud prosecutions against individuals in the past 6-8 months.” Linda also notes that those allegedly perpetuating fraud at a company already under a Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) are at particular risk. When a CIA is in place, the government continues to closely scrutinize the organization and thus is more likely to pursue an individual involved in a related violation of the fraud and abuse laws. Whether this trend continues under the Trump administration remains to be seen. Linda’s comments were also published in Becker’s Hospital Review.
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