Tag Archives: Reid Rector

2022 Year-end False Claims Act Update

by Jonathan Phillips, Winston Chan, John Partridge, James Zelenay,Reid Rector, Michael Dziuban, Chelsea Knudson, Blair Watler, John Turquet Bravard, Ben Gibson, Julien Jabari, Wynne Leahy, Jose Madrid, Nick Perry, Kelsey Stimson, Adrienne Tarver, and Chumma Tum

Top row left to right: Jonathan Phillips, Winston Chan, John Partridge, James Zelenay Middle row left to right: Chelsea Knudson, Michael Dziuban, Blair Watler, Julien Jabari Bottom row left to right: Ben Gibson, Reid Rector, Nick Perry, John Turquet Bravard

A dull year is rare when it comes to the False Claims Act (FCA), but this last year was exceptional by any standard. In the last twelve months, the Supreme Court decided to take up two different issues under the FCA, while the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced, yet again, billions in recoveries and nearly a thousand new FCA cases, a new record.

DOJ’s $2.2 billion in recoveries during FY 2022 marked the fourteenth straight year where recoveries exceeded $2 billion, dating back to 2008. But even more notable than the dollar amount was the sheer volume of FCA activity. DOJ obtained its recoveries from the second-highest number of settlements in history, and there were more new FCA matters initiated in FY 2022 than in any prior year, meaning the pipeline of FCA lawsuits is very full.

Continue reading →

U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services Issues New Guidance On Voluntary Cybersecurity Practices For Health Care Industry

by Ryan Bergsieker, Reid Rector, and Josiah J. Clarke

On December 28, 2018, a Task Group that includes U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) personnel and private-sector health care industry leaders published new guidance for health care organizations on cybersecurity best practices.[1]  The guidance—Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients—is voluntary and creates no legal obligations.  It is targeted to health care providers, payors, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers. 

This publication is among the most comprehensive and detailed guidance now available to the health care industry on cybersecurity.  While voluntary, the prescriptive advice and scalable tools in the new guidance may be a valuable resource for legal, compliance, IT, and information security professionals at health care organizations.  Organizations that follow this guidance may decrease the likelihood that they will suffer a costly data breach, and in the event of a breach may be able to point to compliance with the guidance to show that they have implemented reasonable cybersecurity practices, thereby helping to defend against private lawsuits or government enforcement actions. 

This alert briefly describes the background and key takeaways from the guidance.  Gibson Dunn is available to answer any questions you may have about how this guidance applies to your organization, as well as any other topics related to cybersecurity or privacy in the health care industry. Continue reading →