	False Claims Act

The federal False Claims Act (FCA), codified at 31 U.S.C. Under three key provisions of the FCA, civil liability may be imposed on any person that
(1) knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, to an officer or employee of the United States Government or a member of the Armed Forces of the United States a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval [31 U.S.C. Overview of the Allison Engine Decision

In Allison Engine Co. v. U.S. ex. rel. While the Court held that a false claim does not have to be presented to the government under §§ 3729(a)(2) and (a)(3), the Court found that under § 3729(a)(2), a plaintiff "must prove that the defendant intended that the false record or statement be material to the Government's decision to pay or approve the false claim." Some commentators have suggested that Allison Engine could make it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring an FCA claim against health care entities. These bills include the False Claims Act Clarification Act of 2009 ( S. 458 ), introduced by Senator Grassley, and the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2009 ( H.R. In addition, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 ( S. 386 , as reported in the Senate), which was introduced by Senator Leahy and Senator Grassley to enhance federal enforcement capabilities to counteract mortgage fraud, securities fraud, and fraud with respect to federal financial assistance, would also amend the FCA to "clarify that the False Claims Act was intended to extend to any false or fraudulent claim for government money or property, whether or not the claim is presented to a government official or employee … and whether or not the defendant specifically intended to defraud the U.S. 1788 , and S. 386 (which all contain similar, but not identical, provisions) could potentially limit the application of Allison Engine .
The False Claims Act (FCA), an important tool for combating fraud against the U.S. government, generally provides that a person who knowingly submits, or causes to be submitted, a false or fraudulent claim for payment to the U.S. government may be subject to civil penalties and damages. Recently, the Supreme Court examined the scope of the FCA in Allison Engine v. United States ex rel. Sanders, in which a former employee of a subcontractor brought an action against other subcontractors who had allegedly submitted a false claim to the prime contractor on a U.S. defense contract. The Court struck down the FCA claim against the subcontractors, holding that a demonstration that a false claim was paid for with government funds, without more, does not establish liability under 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729(a)(2) and (a)(3). Under these sections, the Court found that a plaintiff must prove that the defendant intended to defraud the government (and not just a recipient of government funds) when it submitted or agreed to make use of the false claim. Given that the FCA is frequently invoked in the health care context, it has been questioned how this decision could affect these cases. This report provides an overview of the FCA and the Allison Engine decision, analyzes how this decision could affect certain FCA health care claims, and discusses proposed legislation that would amend the False Claims Act (i.e., the False Claims Act Clarification Act of 2009 (S. 458), the False Claims Act Correction Act of 2009 (H.R. 1788), and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (S. 386)), which could limit the application of the Allison Engine decision.