False Claims Act/Qui Tam

This blog is about qui tam, a  lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act by a private plaintiff on behalf of the Federal or State Government (rather than by the Government itself). The False Claims Act was originally enacted by Congress in 1863, as a response to widespread abuses by government contractors against the Union Army during the Civil War. The qui tam provisions are now used widely and this blog is intended to keep readers up to date with all qui tam related news and to provide commentary when warranted.  This blog also contains an array of laws and regulations concerning qui tam set out in an easy to read format.

Leveling the Playing Field for Honest Business Competition

by Nolan and Auerbach on June 3, 2011

Oftentimes, when people describe the typical whistleblower, they paint a picture of a dissatisfied employee who stands up to his or her wayward employer. While this is certainly true in a lot of False Claims Act cases, there is no requirement that the whistleblower be an employee or a so-called “insider.” Indeed, some of the most effective whistleblowers are the direct corporate competitors of the fraudulent businesses.

The most recent example involves a case filed under the California False Claims Act, which maintains that seven private medical labs allegedly overbilled the state Medicaid program for diagnostic testing. The whistleblower, the CEO of a competitor lab company, refused to join in the alleged price-gouging.  His courage was recently rewarded, after Quest Diagnostics agreed to pay Medicaid $241 million to settle the lawsuit.

For more information about qui tam law and healthcare fraud, contact Nolan & Auerbach, P.A.

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