Court Dismisses Whistle-Blower’s Case Based on Lab’s Violation of CLIA Standards

A federal district court in New Mexico dismissed Nov. 21 a False Claims Act whistle-blower’s complaint against a hospital that allegedly had operating deficiencies and engaged in false reporting of laboratory standards compliance (United States ex rel. Hansen v. Deming Hosp. Corp., 2013 BL 325601, D.N.M., 11-cv-00566-WPL-CG, 11/21/13).

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico held that lab compliance with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1998 (CLIA) certification standards was a condition of participation in the Medicare program, but not a condition of payment. The court said that because compliance with CLIA standards ...