Supreme Court Weighs in on Implied False Certification Theory

Ryan Meade Editor-in-Chief Director of Regulatory Compliance Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law   The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday in  Universal Health Services, Inc. v. U.S. ex rel Escobar (“UHS”) has had some strange initial summaries suggesting this is a gloom and doom opinion for actors who submit claims to the United States.  I …
Read more

Being Held to Standards Beyond the Legal Minimum

Ryan Meade Editor-in-Chief Director of Regulatory Compliance Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law   Here is a link to a short blog post I recently published on the SCCE’s The Compliance & Ethics Blog (“Being Held to Standards Beyond the Legal Minimum”).  Organizations must go into policy-writing with eyes wide open on what exposure …
Read more

A New Role for Compliance Programs in HHS-OIG Resolutions of Non-compliant Conduct

Ryan Meade Editor-in-Chief Director of Regulatory Compliance Studies at Loyola University Chicago School of Law   A recent commentary from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) indicates it will not consider the existence of an effective compliance program as a positive factor in resolving civil non-compliance but it …
Read more

Reasons for an Athletics Compliance Department

Gilbert Carrillo Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law,  JD 2017   The National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) is a non-profit organization that regulates athletes in over 1,200 institutions, associations and conferences.  The NCAA also organizes many of the athletic programs of its member schools.  The amount of members in the NCAA requires rules …
Read more

Effective Compliance Training Methods to Increase Reporting

Brittany Tomkies Executive Editor Loyola University Chicago School of Law, JD 2017   A September 2016 survey from the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) found that 83% of compliance professionals said their program prevented misconduct at least once in the last two years with 46% of respondents saying their compliance program prevented five …
Read more

Dealing with 71 Medical Licensure Boards: American Doctors Trip Over State Lines

In April 2013, members of the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the Council of State Governments (CSG) embarked on a venture to create the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (the Compact or IMLC), a voluntary, expedited pathway to licensure for qualified physicians who wish to practice medicine in multiple states. On April 20, 2017, the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact Commission, (IMLCC) issued its first Interstate Medical License to a Wisconsin physician who applied to practice in Colorado, setting a groundbreaking precedent in medical licensure portability. While the IMLC is a great first step toward increasing access to healthcare by expanding licensure portability, this initiative faces multiple regulatory hurdles.

The Need for a Modified Upjohn: Internal Investigations and When to Warn

Compliance programs rely heavily on internal investigations. Yet unlike their counterparts in the in-house counsel’s office, compliance professionals rarely give notice when they are conducting such investigations. Whether compliance professionals have duty to notify individual directors, officers and employees of an internal investigation remains unclear. This lack of clarity leads to confusion with employees and officers regarding the limits of confidentiality, and the compliance officer’s duty of loyalty. A robust ethics and compliance program should therefore take a proactive stance and integrate Upjohn warnings—a standard of corporate counsel, but modified to fit the compliance function—into the internal investigation process.

Insurance Plans and Opioids: Releasing and Raising the Barriers to Prescribe

With the opioid addiction epidemic continuing to rise in the United States, several insurance companies loosened the existing barriers to addiction treatment. Aetna Insurance Company joined Cigna and Anthem in removing key provisions in its insurance plans that require additional authorization prior to providing addiction treatment. At the same time, Cigna proposed to strengthen barriers to physician prescribing of opioids in an attempt to further address the opioid epidemic.

Bose Accused of Blasting Consumer Listening Habits to Third Parties

Global music technology giant and headphone maker, Bose Corporation, has been hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging that Bose collected the listening preferences of the users of its wireless headphones and its companion application without their knowledge and sold that information to third parties. Counsel representing the class filed the complaint in federal court in Chicago, Illinois alleging violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”) and the Illinois-specific Eavesdropping Statute.