Trump DOJ Sharpens Its Focus on Healthcare Fraud

Host Jonathan Porter welcomes to the show Husch Blackwell attorney Brandon Hall, a St. Louis-based member of the firm’s Healthcare group, to discuss how the Department of Justice’s reshuffling of priorities could lead to a greater focus on healthcare fraud enforcement. Jonathan and Brandon begin by exploring Brandon’s career prior to entering private practice, when he served as a sales representative for a medical device firm and how this background helped inform Brandon’s interest in and approach to the government’s efforts to regulate healthcare. The conversation then pivots to the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA), a criminal law enacted by Congress in 2018 as part of a larger package of legislation addressing the opioid crisis. EKRA, however, has broader implications, and Jonathan and Brandon dive into how it intersects with the False Claims Act and how its willfulness provisions and lack of a right of private action have impacted enforcement. They also discuss EKRA case law that has shaped how compliance programs operate and how courts have interpreted the law’s provisions, including its unique preemption scope vis-à-vis state law and other federal statutes.With recent reports noting redeployment of DOJ resources toward greater healthcare fraud enforcement, EKRA could emerge as a key piece of criminal law that healthcare providers need to consider.Jonathan Porter | Full BiographyJonathan focuses on white collar criminal defense, federal investigations brought under the False Claims Act, and litigation against the government and whistleblowers, where he uses his experience as a former federal prosecutor to guide clients in sensitive and enterprise-threatening litigation. At the Department of Justice, Jonathan earned a reputation as a top white-collar prosecutor and trial lawyer and was a key member of multiple international healthcare fraud takedowns and high-profile financial crime prosecution teams. He serves as a vice chair of the American Health Law Association’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group and teaches white collar crime as an adjunct professor of law at Mercer University School of Law.Brandon Hall | Full BiographyBrandon counsels clients on healthcare regulatory matters, government enforcement actions, employee benefits, and ERISA. His clients include hospitals, health systems, physicians and other providers, physician groups, pharmacies, ERISA plan fiduciaries, and healthcare private equity investors. Prior to his legal career, Brandon sold medical devices for a national cardiac monitoring company. He also serves as adjunct faculty at Saint Louis University School of Law’s Center for Health Law Studies, where he co-teaches the course Grassroots Policy and Advocacy, a class which works with legislators to draft and pass legislation during the spring semester by taking frequent trips to the state capital to lobby legislators and testify before various committees.