On August 22, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit denied a motion to rehear en banc a panel decision expanding liability under the False Claims Act (FCA). The relator accused a home-health agency of submitting Medicare reimbursement claims that failed to divulge the agency’s violation of a rule governing when a doctor must sign a certification that the proposed treatment for a patient was medically necessary. The defendant obtained the certifications; the relator alleged merely that the defendant took too long to do so. WLF had filed a brief urging the full Sixth Circuit to review and overturn the panel’s conclusion that the relator adequately pleaded materiality.
**Brookdale has filed a motion with the Sixth Circuit to stay further progress in the case as it prepares to file a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.