Alston & Bird Government Contracts Blog

Public Health Care Contracts

UnitedHealthcare Wins Medicaid Bid Protest Case

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On April 10, 2018, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled in favor of our client, UnitedHealthcare, in their case against the state Department of Human Services (DHS) for violating the state’s procurement code during a 2015 bid process for the $12 billion in Medicaid physical health services contracts. UnitedHealthcare, a Medicaid provider in the state at the time but not reselected for any areas, protested the bid selections after the discovery of a secret December 2016 meeting of state officials and two top executives of another bidder who ultimately won a contract. The DHS denied UnitedHealthcare’s [...]Read more

The Trump Administration’s Move Toward Pro-Employer Policies

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On March 27, 2017, President Trump signed House Joint Resolution 37 under the Congressional Review Act, which in essence blocked the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (the “Blacklisting Rule”) signed by President Obama. By signing this Resolution, the Blacklisting Rule and the Department of Labor guidance remain in place, but as a practical matter will not be enforced by the Trump Administration. This Resolution will have minimal impact on government contractors in the short term since the Eastern District of Texas already issued a preliminary injunction in 2016 enjoining the implementation [...]Read more

Alston & Bird Advisory: Highlights of the OIG’s 2017 Work Plan

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In coordination with Alston & Bird partners Dawnmarie Matlock and Wade Pearson Miller and other authors, Construction & Government Contracts associate Erica Harrison Arnold contributed to the Alston & Bird Health Care and Health Care Litigation advisory “New Initiatives for the New Year: Highlights of the OIG’s 2017 Work Plan.” The advisory focuses on new OIG HHS initiatives and projects in the 2017 Work Plan that companies in the health care industry should take special note of when planning their business strategies, risk assessments, internal audits and compliance efforts for [...]Read more

The Supreme Court Weighs In on the Implied Certification Theory of False Claims Act Liability

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The Supreme Court has handed the Department of Justice and qui tam relators a bigger hammer to wield against government contractors with its opinion in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. United States ex rel. Escobar, confirming the viability of the implied certification theory of False Claims Act (FCA) liability. In this case, the relators filed a qui tam action alleging that a provider of mental-health services in Massachusetts violated the FCA when it submitted Medicaid reimbursement claims that included representations about the services provided, but failed to disclose that the service [...]Read more

Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Significant False Claims Act Case

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Our colleagues Jackie Baratian and Jason Popp summarize here the oral argument for Universal Health Services v. United Sates ex rel. Escobar heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, April 19th, laying out the various arguments presented by counsel and addressed by the Justices.  As they note, much of the argument focused on the Restatement of Contracts, as a source of “fraud” in contracting common law, to help draw a distinction between an implied promise and an immaterial unspoken performance detail.  The Justices also took note of the decision in Halper, in which the Supreme Court in [...]Read more