The Supreme Court seemed open on April 18 to revive whistleblower lawsuits against pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway for allegedly submitting false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs they sold.
The case is considered to be important because it could have an impact on the government’s ability to crack down on health care fraud.
The companies say they shouldn’t be held liable because they did not knowingly commit fraud and in their view acted reasonably in the absence of clear-cut price-reporting rules.
Lawyers say that fraud is one of the most difficult crimes to prove in court.
Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Oct. 14, 2020. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit determined that SuperValu and Safeway together had indeed overbilled the government, but found their billing processes were consistent with an “objectively reasonable” interpretation of the law, regardless of their intentions….