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Whistleblowers

Latest Headlines

Latest Headlines

Four Florida hospitals, one ambulance company reach fraud settlement with feds

One ambulance company and four hospitals in Jacksonville, Florida have opted to settle a lawsuit brought by the government in 2011 and unsealed just a few weeks ago, according to the  Florida Times-Union. The settlement leaves out an additional ambulance company that is now facing renewed false claims charges from the feds.  

Two court decisions land on opposite ends of False Claims Act spectrum

Although two recent appellate court decisions offered differing viewpoints of public disclosure under the False Claims Act, each case provided some interesting insight into the regulation following changes made by the Affordable Care Act.

DOJ seeks to double its healthcare fraud enforcement budget

A fact sheet released by the U.S. Department of Justice outlines its budget requests for fiscal year 2016 that includes $43 million in additional funding to address violent crime, drugs and healthcare fraud.

SUNY foundation settles claims of doctored Medicaid audits

The Research Foundation of the State University of New York (SUNY) settled claims that it falsified audits of the state's Medicaid program between October 2007 and September 2008, hiding the number of ineligible people receiving Medicaid benefits.

Legal report looks at key False Claims Act cases of 2014

A report from the District of Columbia-based law firm Epstein Becker Green reveals important False Claims Act litigation developments within the healthcare industry in 2014. The report comes on the heels of a record-setting $5.7 billion in False Claims Act recoveries announced by the Department of Justice last month.

Pharmacy fraud cases brought to light across the country

December has been a month filled with pharmacy fraud arrests, convictions and court cases. Phramacy fraud activity and allegations involving repackaged drugs, alleged kickbacks, along with whistleblower award litigation, were reported in Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, Illinois and California.

A story of redemption and the value of self-reporting

Those who read about the  11 south Florida residents charged with defrauding Medicare for more than $25 million were probably just as horrified as the FBI to learn about the details of a case that used more than 1,200 expatriates to fraudulently collect Medicare reimbursement.

VA whistleblowers honored

The Office of Special Counsel, the agency responsible for whistleblower protection, honored three Department of Veterans Affairs physicians for disclosing major issues within VA facilities, such as using secret wait lists to cover up excessive wait times, according to the Washington Post.

False Claims Act enforcement continues in high gear

The federal government obtained $5.69 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving false claims and fraud this year, and about 40 percent of that total involved healthcare programs, former HHS Inspector General Richard Kusserow reported. 

News roundup: Physician assistant impersonators tangled up in fraud

Physicians' assistants and unlicensed people posing as them have captured headlines recently for perpetrating or witnessing alleged and proven healthcare fraud.