Drugs

SCOTUS Gives Whistleblowers More Time to File

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court has said that whistleblowers will have up to four years of additional time to file False Claims Act (FCA) suits against healthcare and other firms. The justices said that FCA claimants can sue up to three years after the responsible federal official knew or should have known the relevant facts, but not more than 10 years after the alleged violation.

The longer statute of limitations applies in whistleblower suits in which the federal government has declined to intervene. Modern Healthcare reports that until this ruling, due to different appeals court interpretations, the FCA statute of limitations has varied across the country in cases where the federal government didn’t intervene.

The post quotes former Justice Department attorney Jonathan Feld (Dykema) that the decision may lead to an increase in the number of whistleblower cases and make defending against them more complex.

“I definitely expect to see more cases because whistleblowers will have expanded time in which they can file without government intervention,” Feld said. “And companies will have to keep their records longer and do more thorough exit interviews with employees.”

The statute permits suits up to three years after “the official of the United States charged with responsibility to act in the circumstances” learned about the alleged fraud, but not more than 10 years after the event. The high court said whistleblowers are not considered to be U.S. officials and are not limited by the original six-year statute of limitations that starts at the time of the alleged violation.

Observers said defense attorneys fear the decision will prompt whistleblowers to wait longer to file their claims to increase the amount of fraud and thus their claims’ value.

Of the $2.8 billion in Justice Department FCA recoveries last year, some $2.5 billion involved the healthcare industry, including drug and medical device manufacturers, managed care providers, hospitals, pharmacies, hospice organizations, laboratories, and doctors. Of the $2.5 billion, $2.1 billion resulted from whistleblower cases, with the whistleblowers receiving $301 million from the settlements, Modern Healthcare says.

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Gupta Raises Concerns About Overton’s Independence, Ideology

Overton Confirmation Remains Uncertain After Senate Hearing

FDA Classifies Boston Scientific Imager II Catheter Recall as Class I

FDA Approves Gazyva for Childhood-Onset Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome