Lee Cortes and Lisa Re Discuss Intensifying Medicare Advantage Scrutiny with Law360

Arnold & Porter White Collar Defense & Investigations partner Lee Cortes and Life Sciences & Healthcare Regulatory partner Lisa Re were quoted in the recent Law360 article, “The Uncertain Impact Of Medicare Advantage Scrutiny,” discussing the mounting litigation and regulatory activity against Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs).

Lisa, former Assistant Inspector General for Legal Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, said she expects the federal government’s recent success in securing several large settlements from MAOs to both reinforce their interest in the area and “move the needle toward compliance.”

“The government resources tend to follow the money, so I’m not surprised by the scrutiny in this area,” she noted.

Lee added that, even after the several recent settlements, litigation may remain a relevant tool for Medicare Advantage enforcement. He also highlighted that the growing popularity of Medicare Advantage makes it difficult to predict exactly how enforcement strategies will develop.

“The thing about Medicare Advantage is it’s so broad, and it does keep evolving,” he said. “So I think it is one of those time-will-tell kind of scenarios, given that it just continues to become a bigger and bigger part of the system itself.”

Read the full article (subscription required).