Policy & Compliance

Expert Analysis

• NY Ethics Opinion Warns Attys On Qui Tam Deception

  

  A recent New York State Bar Association ethics opinion cautions that counsel representing whistleblowers may not induce, supervise or facilitate a client's deceptive prefiling investigations, creating a potential vulnerability for qui tam complaints built on questionable evidence-gathering methods, say attorneys at Sidley.

• DOJ Fraud Declination Highlights Self-Disclosure Tradeoffs

  

  As exemplified by the U.S. Department of Justice's declination of charges against Campus Eye Management under its new corporate enforcement policy, self-disclosure can be an attractive option for healthcare companies navigating criminal exposure, but should be weighed against potential costs, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• What DOJ Fraud Division Rule Resolves, And What It Doesn't

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published final rule answers many outstanding questions about the newly created National Fraud Enforcement Division, but overlapping mandates could result in parallel investigations and diverging viewpoints between multiple sets of prosecutors, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Youth Center Investigation Shows Rising Governance Scrutiny

  

  A recent New Hampshire attorney general report following its investigation into the state's Sununu Youth Services Center shows how organizations serving vulnerable populations can face scrutiny of their governance, safety practices and preparedness, even when investigators find no abuse, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Target's ERISA Win Doesn't Ax Tobacco Surcharge Questions

  

  Though a Minnesota federal court's recent dismissal of a putative class action challenging Target's tobacco surcharge wellness program offers employers a defense road map, courts' differing conclusions about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act versus U.S. Department of Labor requirements leave the legal landscape unsettled, say attorneys at McGuireWoods.

• How 'Most Favored Nation' Regime Affects Biopharma Deals

  

  As M&A activity surges in the biopharma space, companies will need to account for the Trump administration's most-favored-nation pricing proposals — durable in concept, if unsettled in detail — when drafting deals, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• Where DOJ's Fraud Priorities Memo May Actually Matter

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice’s recently released memo outlining priorities for its newly created fraud division will shape how cases are identified, staffed and sequenced, meaning white collar defense work must begin earlier, say David Tarras at Tarras Defense and Trevor Jones at Dynamis.

• DOJ Healthcare Declination Offers Self-Disclosure Checklist

  

  The U.S. Department of Justice's declination of criminal charges against Campus Eye Management signals that its new self-disclosure policy provides a real path for healthcare companies to avoid criminal exposure, but that path is paved with speed, transparency and operational remediation, says Jonathan Porter at Husch Blackwell.

• Correctional Healthcare Requires Clearer Legal Standards

  

  As the correctional healthcare industry increasingly faces financial instability due to litigation, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons should develop clear standards for constitutionally adequate care for incarcerated patients, says Susanne Moore at Blackstone Trial Group.

• How Home Infusion Providers Can Adapt To Enrollment Pause

  

  Recent Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services moratoria on new enrollments of home health agencies, medical equipment companies and hospices make home infusion providers' compliance obligations more complex and ambiguous, requiring new careful consideration of specific enrollment requirements and limitations, say attorneys at Quarles & Brady.

• AI Data Mining Is Changing FCA Enforcement

  

  With False Claims Act investigations increasingly emerging from statistical anomalies identified by data miners, companies need to consider what conclusions an outsider armed with artificial intelligence might draw from public-facing data and be ready to explain any anomalies if questions arise, say attorneys at Cohen & Gresser.

• Lessons From 5 Months Of DOJ Corporate Policy Deals

  

  Recent declinations and prosecution agreements between the U.S. Department of Justice and corporations since the March unveiling of the corporate enforcement and voluntary disclosure policy provide takeaways for management considering how to respond to corporate misconduct, says Brendan Quigley at Baker Botts.

• A New Era Of Scrutiny For China-Linked Pharma Deals

  

  As Congress considers bipartisan legislation that would heighten regulatory scrutiny for life sciences deals involving Chinese biotech entities, companies should reassess the risks and due diligence requirements that will come with using heavily China-dependent pipelines, says Jen Maki at Ankura.