Reduced penalties under the False Claims Act proposed

A proposal at a recent Congressional hearing involved altering False Claims Act penalties by reducing the punishment imposed on healthcare organizations that self report violations of the FCA, according to a Bloomberg report.

At the hearing, David W. Ogden, a partner with WilmerHale in Washington, D.C., who was testifying on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, said companies with certified compliance programs that self report violations should face reduced penalties under the FCA.

Mr. Ogden, who was joined at the hearing by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), also said the FCA should be revised to incentivize organizations to self report violations by removing the threat of future qui tam, or whistle-blower, cases based on the same issue.

More articles on the False Claims Act:

Increased use of non-monetary tools in FCA enforcement 
10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits 
Government files Anti-Kickback, False Claims lawsuit against Missouri neurosurgeon