Insights

Washington, D.C. – June 22, 2022: Jed Wulfekotte joins Crowell & Moring’s Washington office as a partner in its Litigation and Health Care groups, where he will represent corporate clients as both plaintiffs and defendants in complex commercial litigation matters spanning a wide range of industries, most notably, health care, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, government contracts, and technology. He also will represent companies involved in False Claims Act investigations and qui tam litigation.    

Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its third annual "Litigation Forecast: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year," and the introduction of its first-ever "Regulatory Forecast 2015: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year."

Washington, D.C. – August 28, 2014: The Best Lawyers in America 2015 selected 40 Crowell & Moring LLP attorneys as leaders in their field. Attorneys were selected through peer nominations. The following Crowell & Moring attorneys are listed by the respective practice areas for which they were selected:

Today, President Biden signed an executive order and published a presidential memorandum seeking to improve access to the health insurance markets created by the Affordable Care Act, reverse certain Trump Administration healthcare policies, and to protect access to reproductive health services. The action comes on the seventh business day since the administration took office, a day dedicated to addressing broad healthcare issues, as opposed to the more acute pandemic measures that were taken on days one and two. Although not sweeping policy changes, President Biden signals ownership of the Affordable Care Act, which he as President Obama’s vice president shepherded, and rings in a new era of leadership that seeks to strengthen the law rather than repeal and replace it. The following is a summary and link to each of today’s actions:

This summary of key lawsuits affecting managed care is provided by the Health Care Group of Crowell & Moring. If you have questions or need assistance on managed care law matters, please contact Chris Flynn, Peter Roan, or any member of the Health Care Group.

On November 13, 2014, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum authorizing the U.S. Agency for International Development to indemnify contractors performing Ebola-response contracts in Africa "with respect to claims, losses, or damage arising out of or resulting from exposure, in the course of performance of the contracts, to Ebola." This Presidential action is the latest example of how contractors may obtain contract-based indemnification for certain activities (previously discussed here, here, here, here, and here), including activities that pose unusually hazardous risk, and serves as a reminder to contractors engaged in such activities to request that such indemnification clauses be included in their contracts when appropriate.

Troy Barsky, a Washington, D.C.-based partner in the firm's Health Care Group, explains recent legislation designed to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula for physician reimbursement, as well as provisions echoing the fraud and abuse mandates in the Affordable Care Act. "This is a strong message from Congress that the focus on fraud and abuse is here today," Barsky said. "The bill was supposed to focus on physician payments, but…having a strong compliance program is vitally important if you continue to operate in this space."

Washington, D.C.-based Health Care Group partner, Troy A. Barsky, speaks with Report On Medicare Compliance regarding Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs) receiving another year of relief from fraud-and-abuse laws with the recent extension of waivers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General. Barsky, a former director of the CMS Division of Technical Payment Policy, stresses the importance of ACOs needing to comply with the anti-kickback statuses of these waivers. "If they use the waivers, it's an area of compliance they need to pay attention to," Barsky continues, "It can trip you up."

Troy Barsky, a partner in the firm's Health Care Group, is interviewed by Modern Healthcare to discuss how government investigators are likely to start wielding the False Claims Act even more aggressively than in the past. Barsky says, "the Justice Department's willingness to pursue huge False Claims cases on physician compensation against hospitals is new. In fact, it has created a great deal of uncertainty among providers who also recognize various financial incentives from the [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] that favor doctor-integration." Barsky is the former director of the CMS Division of the Technical Payment Policy, Chronic Care Policy Group.

In this episode, Joe Records and Payal Nanavati talk to Scott Douglas and Charlotte Freed about the mental health provisions in the federal gun safety legislation. The new law included billions in federal funds to support mental health care—a huge investment likely to have major impacts on the industry.