Bass, Berry & Sims attorneys Denise Barnes and Scott Gallisdorfer co-authored an article published by Law360 detailing what the $12 million settlement of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) case against medical device maker Innovasis Inc. may mean for other Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) cases. The case involved DOJ allegations that Innovasis and two of its executives gave surgeons gifts, including payments and a trip to a ski resort so that they would use the company’s spinal devices.
Denise and Scott wrote that the settlement comes amid a circuit split over language added to the AKS in a 2010 amendment and is also a further indication of the DOJ’s effort to ramp up AKS enforcement. The Innovasis settlement offered some takeaways for companies and executives facing the decision of whether or not to self-disclose to the government a violation of the AKS.
“The Innovasis settlement demonstrates that effectively navigating a self-disclosure requires striking the right balance of cooperation and client advocacy,” the attorneys wrote.
The full article, “DOJ Innovasis Settlement Offers Lessons on Self-Disclosure,” was published by Law360 on July 29 and is available online. Denise also wrote about the Innovasis settlement for the firm’s Inside the False Claims Act blog and GovCon & Trade blog.