30th Annual National Health Law Moot Court Competition on Nov. 5-6 will focus on fraudulent reimbursement claims

Law school students will compete both in Carbondale and virtually this weekend as the Southern Illinois University School of Law hosts the National Health Law Moot Court competition, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5-6.

Twenty-five teams from 17 law schools will argue the merits of a fictitious case before the U.S. Supreme Court on issues under the False Claims Act, which addresses fraudulent claims for reimbursement from the federal government. The advocates will “address the scope of the Act’s ‘first to file rule,’ which limits who can pursue an FCA claim and also debate whether a medical opinion regarding the medical necessity of treatment can be ‘false’ for purposes of proving a Medicare claim was fraudulent,” said Cheryl L. Anderson, law school professor and moot court programs director. The court record and other information are on the competition website.

Hybrid event this year

In its 30th year, the event is the only mock U.S. Supreme Court competition dedicated to the always evolving and expanding topic of health law.

Last year’s event was completely virtual, a departure from teams traveling annually to compete on campus in the Hiram H. Lesar Law Building. This year, 18 teams will be on campus while seven will compete online.

The final round will be available via livestream at 4 p.m. Saturday via the law school’s moot court board YouTube channel.

“We are looking forward to welcoming teams back to Carbondale as well as providing an outstanding experience for the online teams who could not travel to the event,” Anderson said. “It will be a particular challenge to run the competition in this hybrid format, but I know our Moot Court Board students will once again rise to the occasion and put on the impressive event the School of Law is known for.”

Distinguished judges will preside

As the host, the SIU School of Law moot court team is not a competitor. Anderson noted that many alumni, faculty and friends of the law school will participate as early-round judges.

The final round judges are Judge Bernice B. Donald, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Stephen P. McGlynn, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois; Dr. Joe Piorkowski, president of the American College of Legal Medicine, and Camille Davidson, dean, SIU School of Law. David Cade, president of the American Health Law Association (AHLA), will present the welcoming address on Friday, Nov. 5, and participate as a first-round competition judge. The AHLA largest non-partisan educational organization devoted to legal issues in the health care field, Anderson said.

Read the complete story here.