Photo of Matthew J. Westbrook

Matt Westbrook is a senior counsel in the Corporate Department and a member of the Health Care Group. His practice focuses on providing regulatory compliance advice for the Firm’s health care clients, including service providers, health plans, operators, investors, and lenders, among others. Matt specifically provides advice on fraud and abuse matters arising under the Federal False Claims Act (FCA), Civil Monetary Penalties Law, Federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), and Physician Self-Referral Law (Stark Law), as well as on the regulations promulgated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Before joining the Firm, Matt served as senior counsel in OIG’s Administrative and Civil Remedies Branch. At OIG, Matt was responsible for determining whether to impose administrative sanctions, including civil money penalties and Federal health care program exclusions, against health care providers and suppliers, and whether to impose civil money penalties on hospitals and physicians in connection with matters referred to CMS under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). During his tenure, Matt also litigated exclusion appeals before administrative law judges and appellate panels of the Departmental Appeals Board; advised United States Attorney’s Offices on exclusions appealed to Federal district courts; resolved voluntary self-disclosures submitted by providers and grant and contract recipients; and participated in the negotiations and settlements of FCA matters by the Department of Justice involving the AKS, Stark Law, CMS reimbursement issues, and DEA and FDA compliance issues. In connection with certain FCA resolutions, Matt also negotiated and monitored corporate integrity agreements.

On the Florida junior circuit and in college, Matt was a competitive tennis player. Matt played on the varsity team and was captain his senior year at Rhodes College, earning ITA Division III and SCAC All-Academic Honor Roll awards his sophomore, junior, and senior years. Matt is an active member of the American Health Law Association (AHLA) and currently serves as a Vice Chair of AHLA’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group.

Articles:

Matthew J. Westbrook and David M. Blank, “Using OIG’s Cross-Component Audit and Enforcement Data to Strengthen Your Compliance Program,” Compliance Today (February 2024).

Ed Kornreich, Matthew Westbrook, and Angela Gichinga, “Bracing for the Impact of the No Surprises Act,” Westlaw Today (June 16, 2022).

Presentations:

Bill Mathias and Matt Westbrook, “‘Lightning Round’:  A Fraud & Abuse Due Diligence Game Show,” American Health Law Association (Health Care Transactions Conference, May 5–6, 2025).

Matthew J. Westbrook and David M. Blank, “Recent Trends in CMPL Enforcement, American Health Law Association (Webinar, May 24, 2023).

On June 24, 2026, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published a Request for Information (“RFI”) seeking public input on whether OIG should add or modify its regulatory safe harbors for the Federal anti-kickback statute (“AKS”) or statutory exceptions to the Beneficiary Inducements Civil Monetary Penalties Law (“Beneficiary Inducements CMP”) for remuneration provided to individuals in connection with clinical trial participation.

The RFI sits within HHS’s broader clinical trial reform initiative. Dubbed “Operation Trailblazer”, HHS’s initiative seeks to strengthen U.S. leadership in early clinical research and development. To accomplish that goal, HHS created a Roadmap, which identifies the ways to modernize regulatory processes, encourage more efficient trial practices, better leverage existing data and technologies, and improve patient access and engagement in clinical trials. To increase clinical trial participation, HHS proposes expanding decentralized and hybrid trial models, embedding research in community-based settings, using telehealth, remote monitoring, AI-enabled tools, and real-world data. The roadmap also identifies patient financial burdens—including co-payment obligations for standard-of-care services delivered during a trial, tax issues, possible Medicaid eligibility impacts, and geography—as structural barriers to clinical trial access and retention.

On Thursday, May 28, 2026, after years of delay, the Departments of Labor, the Treasury, and Health and Human Services through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued a final rule for the No Surprises Act (“NSA”), implementing major reforms intended to improve the functioning of the NSA’s independent

On April 30, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the creation of the West Coast Health Care Fraud Strike Force, a coordinated enforcement initiative focused on healthcare fraud in Arizona, Nevada, and Northern California. The initiative brings together DOJ’s Health Care Fraud Unit and the relevant U.S. Attorney’s Offices

2026 has opened with unmistakable signals that False Claims Act (“FCA”) enforcement in the health care sector is accelerating. On January 16, 2026, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced a record-breaking $6.8 billion in FCA settlements and judgments for fiscal year (“FY”) 2025—the largest annual total in the statute’s history

On January 21, 2026, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) submitted its Fall 2025 Semiannual Report to Congress, identifying investigative outcomes relating to HHS program administration and operations during the six‑month period from April 1, 2025 through September 30, 2025. Similar to

The Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) recently issued advisory opinion 25‑12 (“the Opinion”), which addresses a home care agency’s plan to advertise and pay sign‑on bonuses to prospective attendant‑employees, many of whom are family members of Medicaid beneficiaries who would also select the agency for their relative’s Medicaid‑covered services.  OIG

In a pair of recent back-to-back rulings, Federal district courts in Florida and New York have held that the No Surprises Act (“NSA”) does not permit providers to bring private causes of action to enforce Independent Dispute Resolution (“IDR”) awards issued under the NSA.  Following on the heels of earlier

[This blog post was originally published on Proskauer’s Government Contractor Compliance & Regulatory Update blog here.]

The U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”), Civil Division, has started issuing Civil Investigative Demands (“CIDs”) to federal contractors and grant recipients, seeking detailed information about their diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) practices. This move is part

On May 27, 2025, Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia (“BCBSGA”) sued several emergency physician groups and their billing agent, Halo MD, alleging abuse of the No Surprises Act’s (“NSA”) independent dispute resolution (“IDR”) process.  The complaint claims the providers submitted ineligible claims, made false attestations, and inundated

Last month, the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued its “Civil Division Enforcement Priorities” memorandum, memorializing a shift from its predecessor administration’s policy on gender‑affirming healthcare (“DOJ Memo”). The DOJ Memo portends a significant rise in government investigations and False Claim Act (“FCA”) liability for suppliers and providers