Articles and Blogs

Health care and other federal funding recipients face new risks on multiple fronts in their use of diversity, equity and inclusion (“DEI”) programs. The Executive Branch has undertaken a concerted effort to reshape the interpretation and enforcement of federal civil rights laws impacting DEI practices through the issuance of Executive Orders, as discussed here, and... READ MORE

Beginning on August 1, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) launched a three-year Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program (the “Program”). This initiative expands the opportunity for health care whistleblowers, adding private health insurance claims to their quiver. It does so by allowing whistleblowers to report corporate misconduct to the DOJ’s Criminal Division through their... READ MORE

On April 15, 2024, the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a new pilot program to incentivize individuals to come forward with voluntary disclosures (the “Program”). Under this Program, individuals with criminal exposure who come forward and report misconduct that was otherwise unknown to the DOJ may be eligible to receive... READ MORE

On February 22, 2024, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that it recovered over $2.68 billion in False Claims Act (“FCA”) settlements and judgments during the 2023 federal fiscal year. Notably, this amount stems from the highest number of settlements and judgments in a single year, including 543 settlements and judgments during this last... READ MORE

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (“HSR Act”), as amended, requires all persons contemplating certain mergers or acquisitions that meet or exceed the jurisdictional thresholds (shown below) to file a premerger notification (an “HSR Filing”) with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Premerger Notification Office and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division and to... READ MORE

On December 18, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (together, the “Agencies”) released their finalized Merger Guidelines (the “Final Guidelines”). The Final Guidelines contain updates to the draft merger guidelines (the “Proposed Guidelines”) that the Agencies released in July 2023. The Final Guidelines are a significant... READ MORE

On June 27, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), in concurrence with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), announced plans to publish a 133-page Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Notice”) to amend and overhaul the Hart-Scott-Rodino Form and Instructions. The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, requires all persons contemplating... READ MORE

With yet another criminal wage-fixing indictment filed this week, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) signaled its continued commitment to prosecuting anticompetitive conduct affecting the U.S. labor markets, including within the health care industry. On March 16, a federal grand jury returned an indictment that charges a health care staffing executive... READ MORE

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that the United States recovered over $5.6 billion from False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases in the federal fiscal year 2021, “the second largest annual total in False Claims Act history” and more than doubling the FCA recoveries for the DOJ from fiscal year 2020. Of... READ MORE

The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced that the United States recovered over $2.2 billion from False Claims Act (“FCA”) cases in the federal fiscal year 2020. While this is a decrease from the previous year’s recoveries, and likely related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent figures are still on par with DOJ... READ MORE