George B. Breen, Chair of the Firm’s National Health Care and Life Sciences Practice Steering Committee, and Daniel C. Fundakowski, an Associate in the Health Care and Life Sciences practice, authored an article in the “Legal Health” column of the Houston Medical Times, titled “The Clock’s Running Fast: The First Decision Interpreting 'Identification' Under the FCA’s '60-Day-Rule' for Government Overpayments Is Here.”

Following is an excerpt:

On August 3, 2015, in United States ex rel. Kane v. Healthfirst, Inc., et al., the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued the first reported opinion on the False Claims Act’s (“FCA’s”) reverse false claim overpayment provision and determined when an overpayment is deemed “identified” by a health care provider. Denying a motion to dismiss, the court held that the FCA’s statutory 60-day clock for repaying “identified” overpayments begins ticking “when a provider is put on notice of a potential overpayment, rather than the moment when an overpayment is conclusively ascertained.” This case is the first of its kind, and will be perceived as a significant victory by government enforcers and qui tam relators who will use it as precedent. However, the vagueness of the FCA overpayment provision should be the subject of future appeals and continued challenges. Nevertheless, health care entities need to be aware of this decision and its short-term ramifications.

The article is based on the authors' client alert "The Clock’s Running Fast: SDNY Is First to Interpret 'Identification' Under the FCA’s '60-Day-Rule' for Government Overpayments."

Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.