On April 19, 2016, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Universal Health Services, Inc. vs. United States and Massachusetts ex. rel. Escobar. In Escobar, the Court will decide for the first time whether to embrace the theory of “implied certification” under the Federal False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§3729-3733. Under that theory, a health services provider that requests payment from the Government for providing services while knowing, but not disclosing, that the services failed to meet requirements that were material to payment is deemed to have presented a false or fraudulent claim under the FCA. In other words, the theory states that the provider impliedly certifies that the billed for services meet the applicable requirements merely by submitting the claim for payment. Most Federal circuits which have considered the theory have adopted it in one form or another. Continue reading →