George Breen Quoted in "Supreme Court Offers Mixed Take on False Claims Liability"

The opinion includes language that is both helpful and harmful to physicians, according to health law attorneys. On the one hand, the justices supported the implied certification theory, thus expanding the scope of potential liability under the FCA in certain circumstances, said George B. Breen, a Washington-based health law attorney.

“The court’s decision is significant for health care providers and suppliers that submit claims to federally funded health care programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, because the FCA remains one of the federal government’s primary enforcement tools,” Mr. Breen said in an interview. “In the court’s view, half-truths in a claim for reimbursement from a government program … [are] just as actionable as an outright lie if the failure to disclose noncompliance with a statute, regulation, or contract term makes those representations misleading half-truths.”