This week marks the four-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark False Claims Act decision in Universal Health Services, Inc. v. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016). In Escobar, the Supreme Court confirmed that the question of government knowledge lies at the heart of FCA liability determinations, but it did not specifically address who counts as “the Government” for purposes of this inquiry. Since Escobar, however, a number of circuits have confirmed that the relevant scope of “government knowledge” includes both the payor agency and other agencies with regulatory oversight and enforcement responsibilities, a recognition that has far-reaching consequences for FCA litigation. To learn more about this emerging trend in the case law and its potentially powerful implications for FCA matters, click here.
