DOJ officials, industry leaders to speak at ABA Institute of Health Care Fraud in San Francisco

Department of Justice officials, state attorneys general and industry experts headline speakers for the American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section’s 28th Annual National Institute on Health Care Fraud to be held May 2-4 in San Francisco.

The three-day conference will feature two keynote speakers. Joseph Beemsterboer, deputy chief for Healthcare Fraud, Criminal Division, Justice Department in Washington, D.C, will speak at 9. a.m. on Thursday, May 3. On Friday, the luncheon keynote address will be delivered by A.G. Alexander, deputy administrator/director for the Center for Program Integrity, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, D.C.

There will be workshops on Thursday and Friday on such topics as electronic medical records and the False Claims Act, enforcement and compliance – quality of care and medical necessity, fraud and abuse in long-term care and Medicaid fraud enforcement.

Program highlights include:

• “Data Mining and Other Trends in Health Care Enforcement” — Panelists, including Carolyn Bell, assistant U.S. attorney for the Department of Justice in West Palm Beach, Fla., will discuss content management systems data mining, including how the government uses the information to identify targets and indict and how defendants can defend against the information.

• “False Claims Act Developments” — This panel will discuss important legal developments and current litigation and settlements in False Claims Act cases. Speakers include Saralyn Ang-Olson, director/senior assistant attorney general, California Department of Justice in Sacramento; and Benjamin C. Wei, senior trial counsel, Fraud Section, Civil Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

• “Criminal, Civil and Administrative Enforcement in Kickback Cases” — This panel will review recent developments in the prosecution of violations of the anti-kickback statute in criminal, civil and administrative proceedings. Speakers include Sally Molloy, trial attorney, Fraud Section, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; and Keshia Thompson, senior counsel, Administrative and Civil Remedies Branch, Office of Counsel to the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C.

• “Federal and State Enforcement and the Opioid Crisis” — Panelists will examine the federal and state investigative and enforcement efforts for combating the nationwide opioid crises. The group will also discuss the criminal and civil enforcement strategies and goals and the forecast for future progress. Speakers are: Gary Cantrell, deputy inspector general for investigations, Health and Human Services/Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Washington, D.C.; Larissa Payne, director, Medicaid Fraud Con­trol Unit, Attorney General’s Office, Olympia, Wash.; David Rybicki, deputy assistant attorney general, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; and Natalie Priddy Waites, senior counsel for Health Care Fraud, Civil Division/ Fraud Section, Depart­ment of Justice, Washington, D.C.