Legal Blog
Operation Brace Yourself: A Look at the Data
Operation Brace Yourself, the Department of Justice’s 2019 effort to combat massive fraud in terms of durable medical equipment, has gotten a lot of attention and generated many press releases, but I thought it would be useful to look closer at the underlying Medicare data, something that I’ve done extensively in prosecuting and defending health care fraud cases. This will help show the problem that the government tried to address and some issues that attorneys and healthcare professionals should consider.
Willfulness: Often-Overlooked in Healthcare Fraud and Kickback Cases
When it comes to healthcare fraud and kickback cases, I believe many attorneys – both prosecutors and defense attorneys – overlook one important element – “willfulness.” There are four main federal criminal statutes covering healthcare fraud (18 U.S.C. 1347, the Anti-Kickback Statute, false statements, and obstruction). All of them require the government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted “willfully.”