What Healthcare Providers and Life Sciences Companies Can Expect for Enforcement in 2022

Feb 01, 2022

Posted by Sidley Austin

After a relative lull in white-collar enforcement during the last U.S. administration, many anticipated resurgent healthcare enforcement activity in 2021, particularly given Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra’s background as the former attorney general of California.1 But amidst the challenges of a pandemic that has yet to fully recede, enforcement efforts by the Biden administration got off to a slow start; for example, by the end of 2021, two-thirds of the U.S. Attorney slots were yet to be filled with Senate-confirmed prosecutors. Over the past few months, though, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has shown signs of increased activity, turning its attention back to one of its favorite targets, the healthcare and life sciences industry. After more than a year of responding to the pandemic, HHS, too, is likely to increase its focus on affirmative projects, both independently and in partnership with DOJ. As but one example, a recent letter sent by nearly 200 House of Representatives members to the White House urging the executive branch to investigate allegedly inflated pricing by nurse staffing agencies presents the type of consumer-protection-oriented project that HHS may embrace. Continue reading

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