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Liam O'Connell, chair of the firm’s Labor, Employment and Benefits practice group, published “Unveiled: A New Enforcement Method In GSK Settlement” in White Collar Law360’s “Expert Analysis” section on August 16. The article discusses GlaxoSmithKline’s recent agreement to plead guilty and pay $3 billion to resolve its liability for the unlawful promotion of certain prescription drugs, which has been touted by the U.S. Department of Justice as the largest health care fraud settlement in history and the largest payment ever by a drug company. The GSK settlement continues a trend of large health care fraud settlements in recent years, most of which result from cases brought by the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office with assistance from DOJ prosecutors in Washington, D.C.

Liam notes that many news reports have focused on the size of the GSK settlement, but have paid little attention to the creation of a new enforcement mechanism of which companies and executives in the health care industry should be aware: the Financial Recoupment Program in the GSK Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA). CIAs have become standard components of large health care fraud settlements. They typically require the settling company to institute policies and operational controls geared toward preventing future improper conduct. Most CIAs require the expenditure of substantial time and resources in implementation, and additional time and resources are devoted to the monitoring and enforcement of the CIAs.

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