Brian is a member of the Health Care Enforcement Defense Group, and he defends clients facing government investigations and whistleblower complaints regarding alleged violations of the federal False Claims Act and similar state laws. Brian also handles commercial health care litigation involving business disputes, and he defends national product liability cases for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
Brian advises and counsels health care providers, biotechnology and life sciences companies, clinical laboratories, health plans, Medicare Advantage plans, and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. He represents them in government investigations, in litigation, and at trial. He is a member of the firm’s Health Care Enforcement Defense Group and is a frequent author on health care fraud and abuse issues.
In particular, Brian defends companies against government investigations of alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). He conducts internal investigations and litigates qui tam FCA cases in federal courts around the country. Brian also defends pharmaceutical and biotech companies in national product liability cases and represents biotechnology, life sciences, and technology companies in complex business disputes.
Brian is committed to pro bono work. He is a member of the team that manages the Massachusetts Civil Appeals Clinic. He obtained political asylum for a client who was tortured in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and he obtained a residential educational placement for a disabled student. Brian has spent more than a decade advising a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study, treatment, and prevention of the effects of concussions and other brain trauma in athletes and other at-risk groups.
Brian is also deeply involved in the Boston community as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the Volunteers Lawyers Project. Brian serves as a committee member of the United Way's BoSTEM Leadership Breakfast to benefit STEM education in the Boston Public Schools.
Before attending law school, Brian was a project manager at Accenture, a management and technology consulting firm, where he provided project management and consulting services. Brian developed project plans and budgets, managed teams to meet project milestones, and worked with client executives to ensure projects met business objectives. He continues to utilize his project management skills working with his clients to manage matters effectively and to deliver timely results.
Education
- Boston College (JD)
- Boston College (BA)
Experience
- Defended numerous clients, including laboratories, health plans, and Medicare Advantage plans, in government FCA investigations and FCA litigation in jurisdictions around the country
- Obtained summary judgment in nine related cases against a publicly traded biotechnology company and a pharmaceutical company in multi-jurisdictional product liability disputes involving an FDA-approved pharmaceutical drug
- Obtained dismissal of a whistleblower’s state and federal FCA claims against a Pharmacy Benefit Manager in federal court, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision in our client’s favor
- Represented a health insurance company in an FCA lawsuit in federal court where relator alleged an industry wide drug-pricing scheme. The court dismissed the case
- Defended companies against FCA retaliation claims before litigation, in litigation, and at trial
- Obtained a defense verdict as trial counsel after a week-long federal court jury trial. Azco Biotech, Inc. v. Intelligent Bio-Systems, Inc., 12-cv-2599-BEN, U.S. Dist. Ct. (S.D. Cal.). Plaintiff, a former distributor of our client’s next-generation DNA sequencing machines, filed an 18-count, $100 million complaint against our client. Following extensive discovery, we persuaded the court to narrow the case to a single breach of contract claim. The jury returned a unanimous verdict in our client’s favor
- Achieved victory in an arbitration for an international life sciences company initiated by one of the company’s suppliers. After an evidentiary hearing, a panel of arbitrators rejected the supplier’s claims and entered judgment for our client on its counterclaim, including recovery of our client’s attorneys’ fees and costs
- Represented a life sciences company before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in a breach of contract dispute involving the manufacture of diagnostic assays
- Successfully defended a physician before an Administrative Law Judge against an action by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine to revoke or suspend the physician’s license
- Conducted an internal investigation of a health care provider and prepared a self-disclosure to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (OIG)
- Successfully opposed the OIG’s proposed exclusions of a physician from federal health care programs
Recognition & Awards
- Volunteer Lawyers Project: 2019 Denis Maguire Award
- Included on the Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Star Health Care list
- Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Boston Future Leaders Program
- Boston Bar Association Public Interest Leadership Program
Involvement
- Board of Directors, Volunteer Lawyers Project of the Boston Bar Association
- Board of Directors, Concussion Legacy Foundation
- Committee Member, United Way BoSTEM Leadership Breakfast
- Alumni Board Member, Boston College Law School
- Member, Boston Bar Association
- Member, Massachusetts Bar Association
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, American Health Lawyers Association
Recent Insights
Viewpoints
CMS Finalizes Changes Expanding the Scope of the Open Payments Program
November 18, 2019|Blog
Open Payments Program Expansion
August 12, 2019|Blog
News & Press
Brian Dunphy a Member in the Boston Mintz office authored the second article in a four-part series discussing some of 2017’s most important False Claims Act (FCA)-related court decisions.
Mintz has elevated five attorneys to Members of the firm. “These attorneys consistently demonstrate excellence in the delivery of legal services to the firm’s clients,” said Bob Bodian, Managing Member.
Events
Mintz's Health Care Enforcement Defense attorneys, Eoin Beirne, Brian Dunphy, Hope Foster, and Karen Lovitch will speak on the webinar titled, "Health Care Enforcement Year in Review & 2018 Outlook." The attorneys will discuss how health care trends will play out in 2018.
Viewpoints
CMS Finalizes Changes Expanding the Scope of the Open Payments Program
November 18, 2019 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy, Rachel Yount
On November 15, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ("CMS") finalized changes to the Open Payments Program as part of the CY 2020 Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule. Perhaps most importantly, CMS broadened the list of Covered Recipients. Starting for data collection for CY 2021, manufacturers will be required to track and report payments and transfers of value made to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives. CMS also added three new nature of payment categories – debt forgiveness, long-term medical supply or device loan, and acquisitions. CMS also consolidated the two payment categories for continuing education programs – accredited/certified and unaccredited/non-certified – into one payment category for all continuing education programs. Lastly, in a move expected to impose a substantial burden on medical device manufacturers, CMS added a reporting requirement for the ‘device identifier’ component of the unique device identifier for devices and medical supplies.
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Eleventh Circuit Rules in AseraCare Case that Disagreements in Clinical Judgment, Without Objective Falsity, Do Not Prove Fraud Under the FCA
September 11, 2019 | Blog | By Samantha Kingsbury, Laurence Freedman, Brian Dunphy
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its long-awaited and closely watched decision in United States v. AseraCare Inc.. The court ruled that a claim cannot be deemed false under the False Claims Act (FCA) based on a difference in clinical judgment. Instead, there must be proof of an objective falsehood. More than three years have passed since the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama issued the series of rulings that gave rise to the Eleventh Circuit case.
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Open Payments Program Expansion
August 12, 2019 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy, Rachel Yount
On July 30, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced more proposed changes to the Open Payments Program, otherwise known as the Sunshine Act. The proposed changes include new requirements that are expected to impose burdens on pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.
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Third Circuit Dismisses FCA Case Under Pre-ACA Version of Public Disclosure Bar
July 10, 2019 | Blog | By Jane Haviland
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently dismissed a relator’s False Claims Act (“FCA”) case under the pre-Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) version of the public disclosure bar. The court decided in U.S. ex rel. Denis v. Medco that to escape the FCA’s public disclosure bar by qualifying as an “original source” under the pre-ACA version of the FCA, a relator must have first-hand, non-derivative knowledge of conduct giving rise to the FCA claim.
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FCA Defendant Abandons Petition Before the Supreme Court
May 22, 2019 | | By Samantha Kingsbury, Brian Dunphy
This latest installment in our ongoing coverage of the Polukoff False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case might be one of our last posts about the case. Last week, Intermountain Health Care, Inc. and IHC Health Services, Inc. d/b/a Intermountain Medical Center (Intermountain), one of the hospital defendants in this matter, which had previously filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on issues relevant to this case (as we reported in February), filed an Unopposed Motion to Dismiss before the high court.
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FCA Relator and U.S. Weigh in on Defendants' Argument that the FCA is Unconstitutional
May 9, 2019 | Blog | By Samantha Kingsbury, Brian Dunphy
As part of our ongoing discussion of the Polukoff False Claims Act (FCA) qui tam case (involving allegations that certain heart procedures performed by a cardiologist, and billed for by two hospital defendants, were not medically necessary), we reported in February that some defendants filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court.
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Third Time’s Not the Charm: Supreme Court Again Declines to Weigh in on Escobar’s “Materiality” Standard
March 25, 2019 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy, Nicole Henry
The Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari last Monday in U.S. ex rel. Prather v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc., No. 17-5826 (6th Cir. June 11, 2018), again declining to revisit or clarify the False Claims Act's “materiality” standard set forth in its 2016 decision in Universal Health Services v. United States ex rel. Escobar, 136 S. Ct. 1989 (2016).
In Prather, the relator alleged that defendant Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. (Brookdale), a home health provider, submitted bills for medical services that were “untimely” signed and certified by physicians in violation of Medicare regulations. When submitting Medicare claims, Brookdale purportedly did not obtain the required physician certifications attesting that the medical services provided by Brookdale were necessary until months after establishing a patient’s plan of care. Because Medicare regulations under 42 C.F.R. § 424.22(a)(2) require physician certifications “at the time the plan of care is established or as soon thereafter as possible,” the relator alleged that Brookdale’s untimely certifications rendered the claims false under the implied false certification theory. The district court dismissed the complaint on materiality grounds, holding that the noncompliance was insubstantial and that the relator failed to allege that the government had ever denied a claim based on a violation of the timing requirement under the Medicare regulations.
Read more
In Prather, the relator alleged that defendant Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc. (Brookdale), a home health provider, submitted bills for medical services that were “untimely” signed and certified by physicians in violation of Medicare regulations. When submitting Medicare claims, Brookdale purportedly did not obtain the required physician certifications attesting that the medical services provided by Brookdale were necessary until months after establishing a patient’s plan of care. Because Medicare regulations under 42 C.F.R. § 424.22(a)(2) require physician certifications “at the time the plan of care is established or as soon thereafter as possible,” the relator alleged that Brookdale’s untimely certifications rendered the claims false under the implied false certification theory. The district court dismissed the complaint on materiality grounds, holding that the noncompliance was insubstantial and that the relator failed to allege that the government had ever denied a claim based on a violation of the timing requirement under the Medicare regulations.
Health Care Enforcement Year in Review and 2019 Outlook: Civil Litigation Developments and Settlements
January 11, 2019 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy, Laurence Freedman, Karen Lovitch
As in years past, the False Claims Act (FCA) remained a powerful health care enforcement tool in 2018, and FCA investigations and litigation persisted, fueled mainly by hundreds of lawsuits filed annually by relators, including 645 new qui tam actions initiated in FY 2018.
Read more
Health Care Enforcement Year in Review & 2019 Outlook: New DOJ Policies Applicable to FCA Litigation
January 10, 2019 | Blog | By Brian Dunphy, Laurence Freedman
Last year, as we previously discussed, there were two significant Department of Justice (DOJ) policy developments that are applicable to False Claims Act (FCA) litigation: (1) the “Granston Memo” (issued by DOJ Civil Fraud Director Michael Granston), which set forth direction for DOJ’s exercise of its authority to dismiss declined qui tam FCA cases; and (2) the “Brand Memo” (issued by Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand), which instructed DOJ’s FCA litigators not to use any sub-regulatory guidance to create legal obligations.
Read more
News & Press
2017 Health Care Enforcement Review: FCA Case Law
January 17, 2018 | Law360
Brian Dunphy a Member in the Boston Mintz office authored the second article in a four-part series discussing some of 2017’s most important False Claims Act (FCA)-related court decisions.
Mintz Promotes Five Attorneys to Member
May 26, 2017
Mintz has elevated five attorneys to Members of the firm. “These attorneys consistently demonstrate excellence in the delivery of legal services to the firm’s clients,” said Bob Bodian, Managing Member.
Health Care Enforcement Review And 2017 Outlook: Part 4
January 19, 2017
This is the fourth and final installment of a series from Mintz’s Health Law team recapping key government policies, regulations and enforcement actions from 2016 and discussing their potential impacts on 2017.
Eighty-Four Mintz Attorneys Named 2016 Massachusetts Super Lawyers and Rising Stars
October 18, 2016
Fifty-three Mintz attorneys have been named Massachusetts Super Lawyers for 2016 and thirty-one have been named Massachusetts Rising Stars. The findings will be published in the November 2016 issue of Boston Magazine and in a stand-alone magazine, New England Super Lawyers.
The Medicare Overpayment Rule: Implications for Compliance and Health Care Enforcement
February 26, 2016
Mintz Members Brian Dunphy and Larry Freedman authored this BNA’s Medicare Report article discussing the long-awaited final Medicare Overpayment Rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
CMS Relaxes 60-Day Overpayment Rule Requirements: 5 Things to Know
February 11, 2016
Brian Dunphy, a Health Law and Litigation attorney, is quoted in this Becker’s Hospital Review piece on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ final rule.
Mintz Member Brian Dunphy is quoted in this Inside CMS article on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Service's (CMS) final rules requiring healthcare providers and suppliers to report and return overpayments by a certain date.
Events
Speaker
Oct
2
2019
Mintz's Annual Boston Employment Law Summit
Boston, MA
Speaker
Jan
31
2018