Fraud stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a criminal enforcement priority for the US Department of Justice (DOJ). On April 20, DOJ announced a new round of criminal charges against 21 defendants that stem from over $149 million in allegedly fraudulent billing to federal healthcare programs and pandemic assistance programs. The new cases raise DOJ’s total COVID-19-related enforcement stats to 35 defendants and over $290 million in fraudulent billing across 16 federal districts.
Health Law Scan
Legal Insights and Perspectives for the Healthcare Industry
Members of our healthcare team recently published a LawFlash discussing the announcement by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that it will make $25.5 billion available in new COVID-19 relief funds to providers through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). To that end, HRSA will disburse $17 billion in Phase 4 payments remaining from the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund (PRF) to a “broad range of providers” based on lost revenues and expenses between July 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021.