In this article, Kevin Lowell, Bradley Markano, and Mena Sawyer discuss recent updates to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) policies regarding the self-disclosure of potential criminal conduct and False Claims Act (FCA) violations. First, DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and the HHS-OIG issued a joint policy establishing the Fraud Division's Health Care Fraud Section as the single point of entry for companies seeking to self-disclose potentially criminal conduct related to health care and clarifying and streamlining the process for such disclosures. One week later, DOJ’s Civil Division and HHS added a civil counterpart: a six-month pilot program offering a coordinated, reduced-multiplier resolution for companies that self-disclose potential FCA violations.

"DOJ has built a larger, faster, and more data-driven health care fraud program and has now given companies clear front doors, criminal and civil," the authors write. "In-house legal and compliance teams that understand their company's exposure today will be best positioned to make a sound decision, on their own timeline, if a problem surfaces."