Paul Werner Discusses DOJ’s New Approach to the False Claims Act with Law360
Buttaci, Leardi & Werner member Paul Werner was quoted in an article in Law360 Healthcare Authority discussing the impact of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new approach to the False Claims Act (FCA).
The revised Justice Manual now instructs government attorneys to exercise their authority to dismiss “parasitic” whistleblower suits. The updates also direct prosecutors to avoid pursuing FCA cases rooted in violations of nonbinding guidance rather than federal law or regulations.
The changes made to the manual are expected to have an outsize impact on the healthcare industry given the massive amounts of government spending in the sector and the prevalence of complex guidance on sometimes obscure nuances of healthcare law and policy.
“I think it’s a certainty that there will be a disproportionate impact on healthcare versus other contracted lines,” Werner says. He adds that healthcare is “where we see the most False Claims Act enforcement in general. It’s certainly where we see the most qui tam False Claims Act enforcement, and it is the industry where this subregulatory guidance tends to be the most relevant.”
The revisions come in a period of record-breaking qui tam cases and under an administration that has prioritized the pursuit of Medicaid and Medicare fraud, including through data-driven cases.
About 460 new qui tam complaints filed last year made claims against companies billing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, compared with just over 40 whistleblower complaints involving U.S. Department of Defense contractors.
Werner says the changes are “as close to a healthcare-specific set of guidance as you can imagine without them explicitly stating so.”
The full article can be read at Law360 Healthcare Authority (subscription required.)
- Posted on: Oct 1 2026