False Claims Act Materiality: Beyond Escobar and Into New Frontiers

Rachel V. Rose | Rachel V. Rose – Attorney at Law, PLLC

Rachel V. Rose, JD, MBA is a Houston-based attorney and consultant whose practice spans transactional, compliance, and litigation matters in cybersecurity, healthcare, securities, and Dodd-Frank and False Claims Act whistleblower claims. Her background is distinctively multidisciplinary — she worked on Capitol Hill when HIPAA was enacted in 1996 and at HHS during the implementation of the HITECH Act in 2009, giving her firsthand legislative and regulatory insight that few practitioners can claim. She holds a law degree from Stetson University College of Law, an MBA with minors in healthcare and entrepreneurship from Vanderbilt University, and an Executive Certification in Leadership and Negotiation from Harvard Law School. She is an extensively published author, a sought-after speaker, a recognized expert in healthcare compliance and cybersecurity law, and an Affiliated Member at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, where she teaches bioethics.

• Education & Credentials

Rachel holds a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law, a Master of Business Administration with minors in healthcare and entrepreneurship from Vanderbilt University, and an Executive Certification in Leadership and Negotiation from Harvard Law School. This combination of legal, business, and leadership credentials reflects the multidisciplinary foundation of a practice that spans healthcare compliance, cybersecurity, securities law, and whistleblower representation. She is co-editor of the American Health Lawyers Association’s Enterprise Risk Management Handbook for Healthcare Entities (2nd Edition) and coauthor of two ABA publications — The ABCs of ACOs and What Are International HIPAA Considerations? — as well as contributing author to multiple legal and medical reference books.

• Recognition & Leadership

Rachel has received a remarkable breadth of professional recognition, including consecutive listing in the Texas Bar College, the National Women Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 25, Houstonia Magazine’s Top Lawyers in healthcare, the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100, and SuperLawyers in healthcare. She has also been named 1st Healthcare Compliance’s Top Presenter in both 2019 and 2022. As an Affiliated Member of Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy — where she teaches bioethics — she occupies a distinctive position at the intersection of law, medicine, and ethics. Her Capitol Hill experience during HIPAA’s passage and her HHS tenure during HITECH implementation reflect an early and sustained engagement with the legislative foundations of healthcare privacy law that few practitioners can match.

• Professional Involvement

Rachel is extensively published, a sought-after conference presenter, and a frequently quoted expert on cybersecurity, healthcare compliance, and whistleblower law. She serves as co-editor of the AHLA’s Enterprise Risk Management Handbook for Healthcare Entities and has co-authored books for the American Bar Association on ACOs and international HIPAA considerations, as well as contributing chapters to legal and medical reference works. She teaches bioethics at Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, bridging legal and clinical perspectives for healthcare professionals. Her work conducting HIPAA Risk Analyses for domestic and international organizations and representing clients in government enforcement matters reflects active engagement with the compliance challenges healthcare and technology organizations face in an evolving regulatory landscape.

• Experience

Rachel Rose’s career is defined by a rare combination of legislative, regulatory, and private practice experience that spans more than two decades at the intersection of healthcare, cybersecurity, and the law. She was present at two defining moments in U.S. healthcare privacy law — working on Capitol Hill when HIPAA was enacted in 1996 and at HHS when the HITECH Act was being implemented in 2009 — and has built a practice that applies that institutional knowledge to transactional, compliance, and litigation matters for domestic and international clients. Her work includes HIPAA Risk Analyses, government enforcement representation, securities and whistleblower matters, and cybersecurity compliance counseling. Her ABA and AHLA publications, her bioethics teaching at Baylor College of Medicine, her Harvard Executive Certification, and her consecutive national and regional recognition across legal, trial, and compliance communities reflect a career of exceptional depth, versatility, and sustained professional impact.

SESSION 1 – Materiality, Holistic Approach & Escobar (U.S. Supreme Court) | 2:00pm – 2:25pm

Explore the foundational framework of False Claims Act materiality, including the Supreme Court’s landmark Escobar decision establishing the holistic approach courts use to evaluate government payment decisions in FCA litigation.

SESSION 2 – Post-Escobar Circuit Court Interpretations of Materiality | 2:25pm – 2:35pm

Examine how federal circuit courts have diverged in applying Escobar’s materiality standard, and identify the emerging splits and trends reshaping FCA defense and prosecution strategies across jurisdictions.

SESSION 3 – U.S. ex rel. Penelow et al. v. Janssen Products LP (3rd Cir.) | 2:35pm – 3:45pm

Analyze this pivotal Third Circuit case and its implications for pharmaceutical FCA liability, dissecting how the court applied post-Escobar materiality principles to complex healthcare fraud allegations against a major drug manufacturer.

SESSION 4 – March 17, 2026 DOJ Press Release – Indictment of Anchorage Doctor & Her Husband | 2:45pm – 2:55pm

Unpack how this recent federal indictment illustrates one prong of the materiality standard in action, offering critical insight into DOJ enforcement priorities and real-world FCA exposure for healthcare practitioners and their counsel.

SESSION 5 – Conclusion | 2:55pm – 3:00pm

Synthesize the session’s key materiality principles, circuit court trends, and enforcement developments into a practical framework attorneys can immediately apply when advising clients facing FCA exposure or litigation.