George B. Breen, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences and Litigation practices and Co-Chair of the firm’s National Health Care & Life Sciences Practice Steering Committee, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Law360 Healthcare Authority, in “Custom Drug Makers Stay on DOJ Radar in Fla. Fraud Case,” by Gianna Ferrarin. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Federal law enforcement's stake in a recent whistleblower lawsuit focused on expensive skin creams, Florida pharmacies and an alleged multimillion-dollar kickback scheme is indicative of a strong False Claims Act case, experts said.
The Department of Justice's decision to intervene in the case is also evidence that the agency's focus on pharmacies providing custom medications — long recognized as a lucrative avenue for Medicare fraudsters — hasn't waned. …
The case is not the first time compounding pharmacy fraud has caught the attention of federal agencies. …
George Breen, who serves on the board of directors for Epstein Becker Green, called the Florida case significant insofar as the DOJ intervenes in only a small percentage of cases brought by relators, even if the types of allegations themselves are not uncommon.
Breen, who represents defendants in False Claims Act investigations and litigation, noted a mention of telehealth providers in the complaint. While no telehealth providers were named as defendants, Breen said he was keen to see whether these kinds of providers are targeted in future FCA cases.
"I think you can anticipate in the future more investigations and [litigation] involving telehealth, largely because telehealth exploded so much during the time period when we were all in our homes and unable to receive the more traditional health care services," Breen said.
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Board of Directors / Member of the Firm
