STARK II PHASE III: A Detailed Section-By-Section Analysis of the Long-Awaited “Final” Rule
Client Alert | 11 min read | 10.02.07
The Crowell & Moring Health Care Group is pleased to provide our clients, colleagues, and friends with our legal analysis of the Stark II Phase III Regulations, recently published in the September 5, 2007 Federal Register. These new regulations present both welcome relief and unanticipated future challenges in the manner in which physician financial relationships with DHS entities are structured. Our goal in preparing this analysis was to create a thoughtful, practical, and "user-friendly" Stark Law resource that incorporates references to prior rulemaking as well as to the proposed 2008 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Rule. We hope you'll agree that we have accomplished this goal. As always, please feel free to contact your regular Crowell & Moring attorney if you have any questions regarding the analysis, which can be accessed by clicking on the image or link below.
www.crowell.com/pdf/expertise/healthcare/StarkLaw_2007.pdf
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
