In April 2019, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Criminal Division, issued a guidance document entitled “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs.”[1] This guidance updates standards the DOJ utilizes to investigate, charge, and negotiate criminal charges related to corporate crimes.[2] Although the DOJ recognizes that each company has its own set of unique risks, its investigations often include three common questions in assessing the effectiveness of a company’s corporate compliance program.

In January 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published its Final Rule, which significantly increased the privacy and security responsibilities for the “business associates” of “covered entities,” as those terms are defined by HIPAA. A provision within the Final Rule mandated that all covered entities and their business associates revise their business associate agreements to reflect the new responsibilities. Specifically, a business associate must now, among other things:

In 2013, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) charged the nation’s largest for-profit hospice chain, Vitas Innovative Hospice Care (“Vitas”), with false Medicare billings, inappropriately admitting patients with “aggressive marketing tactics,” and misleading patients and families about Medicare hospice benefits. This suit is just one of many recently filed against hospice providers, indicating that they are being watched keenly by enforcement authorities and government agencies.