False Claims & Whistleblowers

A number of medical service providers and nursing homes have turned to practices that are illegal to increase the bottom line. As much as 10% of Medicare charges, by some accounts, have some kind of fraud.

Examples of cases that are fraud-related qui tam in the setting of a nursing home can include the following: billing for services not administered; for the same service, billing more than once; using medical equipment or medicine that is inferior, yet billing, for premium services, the government; ghost-billing for non-existing patients; waiving routine co-payments; providing free services or items in exchange for a Medicaid or Medicare number; and another individual, besides the physician, completing a certificate of medical necessity.

Fraud in the healthcare field is recognized by the government, and can cause an increase in inefficiency and costs.

The government, further, recognizes that it has the most effective chance of identifying healthcare fraud by offering a monetary incentive to individuals who witness these illegal acts.

Regarding the Federal Civil False Claims Act, private citizens can act on behalf of the government, federal or state, to bring any action against contractors of the government, or any entity that acts fraudulently with funds of the government.

With the False Claims Act & Whistleblowers, a lawsuit of qui tam entitles individuals who are employed with any entity guilty of fraud to pursue a lawsuit for damages related to fraud against the company of offense.

If a situation becomes uncovered where you may believe the government is being defrauded, whistleblowers qui tam have the legal right to recover approximately 15% to 30% of the full amount recovered from a fraud lawsuit.

The False Claims Act & Whistleblowers related to lawsuits qui tam can be major, as those initiating the lawsuit can sue for three times the amount of the fraud damages plus civil penalties in a range per claim of between $5,500 and $11,000.

In one year alone, the amount of recoveries in the United States in cases qui tam came to a total of nearly $8 billion; whistleblowers recovered a total of more than $1 billion.

If you suspect any individual, entity, or company involved in government defrauding, immediately contact a seasoned qui tam attorney. You want to hire someone who knows the hierarchy of healthcare organizations.

Personal injury attorneys are very familiar with qui tam matters in handling cases of this complexity. Thus, these attorneys have full advantage of knowing the inner workings of healthcare facilities and nursing homes, with many cases litigated against these types of entities.

Attorneys can put this type of experience to work for you. Cases of qui tam, lastly, are requisite for you to act quickly. Only the first individual, in a number of situations, to file a legal claim will have a right to recover financial damages.

If you work for an organization which has bilked the government intentionally out of funds, contact attorneys specializing in the False Claims Act & Whistleblowers today for a confidential evaluation of your circumstance, to discuss your legal options.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.