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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Health

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, August 3, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will guide healthcare counsel on the Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. and its implications for the healthcare industry. The panel will discuss the scienter standard, the applicability of the decision (or limitations), and practical considerations for healthcare providers. The panel will also discuss managing the risk of False Claims Act (FCA) violations in light of the decision.

Faculty

Matthew L. Knowles
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery, LLP

Mr. Knowles focuses his practice on high-stakes commercial litigation as well as government and internal investigations. He represents clients in a broad range of civil and criminal proceedings at the trial and appellate levels in federal and state courts across the country, including class actions and other complex matters.

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Laura McLane
Partner
McDermott Will & Emery, LLP

Ms. McLane heads the Boston Litigation Practice Group and is a nationally renowned False Claims Act (FCA) litigator in healthcare and life sciences enforcement matters. For more than 20 years, she has represented clients in healthcare, securities and other government investigations and litigation. Clients call Laura “an exquisite lawyer, very smart and incisive” (Chambers USA).

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Monica A. Wallace
Partner, Healthcare Regulatory & Compliance Practice Area Leader
McDermott Will & Emery, LLP

Ms. Wallace focuses her practice on complex regulatory and transactional counseling to healthcare organizations, including health systems, hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, physician groups, dental providers, behavioral health clients, integrated delivery systems, academic medical centers, DMEPOS and pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers, home health agencies, and venture capital and private equity firms and their health-related portfolio companies. She concentrates her regulatory practice on healthcare fraud and abuse, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, reimbursement and billing, legal assessments and audits, compliance programs, and other general regulatory matters including licensure, survey/certification and accreditation. Ms. Wallace’s transactional practice includes mergers, acquisitions and affiliations, divestitures, hospital/physician joint ventures and corporate reorganization.

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Description

On June 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court in U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc. clarified the scienter standard for defendants accused of knowingly submitting false claims to the government. The Court unanimously held that the question of scienter under the FCA turns on a person's subjective beliefs, rejecting certain defenses based on an objective reasonableness standard.

A defendant meets the scienter requirement if its subjective beliefs indicate it had knowledge that its submission of claims was "false or fraudulent." The Court also provided new standards for what may constitute "deliberate ignorance" or "reckless disregard" under the FCA's knowledge prong.

While the Court clarified the standard, it failed to provide much guidance as to what this means in practice. Healthcare providers and others who do business with the federal government must continue to consider difficult questions in their compliance efforts.

Listen as our authoritative panel of healthcare attorneys examines the recent Supreme Court decision in SuperValu and the implications for the healthcare industry. The panel will discuss the scienter standard, the applicability of the decision (or limitations), and practical considerations for healthcare providers. The panel will also discuss managing the risk of FCA violations in light of the decision.

Outline

  1. U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu Inc.
    1. Application
    2. "Unjustifiably high risk"
    3. Implications for compliance
    4. Implications for FCA litigation
  2. Scienter standard
  3. Practical considerations for healthcare providers
  4. Managing risk of FCA violations

Benefits

The panel will review these and other critical issues:

  • What lessons can healthcare counsel draw from the Supreme Court's decision when ensuring compliance under the FCA?
  • What are the limitations of the Supreme Court's decision?
  • What steps should counsel take when managing uncertainty and ambiguity under complex (and sometimes contradictory) regulatory structures?