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Qui Tam Legal News
No More Medicaid Reimbursements in New York for Avoidable Errors and "Never Events"
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Commencing in October 2008, New York hospitals will be denied reimbursement on 14 "never events" from the New York Medicaid program. "Never events" are defined as (a) avoidable hospital complications, including medical errors, (b) which are serious in consequences to patients, that are (c) identifiable and (d) preventable. In his announcement of the change, state Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. stressed that this policy been put in place to improve healthcare quality, reduce medical errors and ensure patient safety.
OIG's 2008 Workplan focuses on diagnostic imaging and durable medical equipment
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Several areas of imaging facilities were placed on OIG's 2008 workplan....
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Makers of Vioxx Sued for Medicaid Fraud under New York FCA
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
In the first New York state False Claims Act case, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have filed a joint suit against Merck & Co. alleging it actively marketing the drug Vioxx to New York doctors while misrepresenting the drug's dangers, causing Medicaid to spend over $100 million on Vioxx prescriptions between 1999 and 2004.
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Faulty Flares Suit Gets U.S. Support
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The U.S. government has joined a recently unsealed whistleblower lawsuit against a wholly owned subsidiary of Alliant Technologies, charging that it knowingly sold dangerous flares that could ignite if dropped from low heights.
Military Helmet Manufacturer Under Fire
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
According to Defense News, the Department of Justice is investigating allegations that Sioux Manufacturing Corp. of North Dakota produced up to 2 million military helmets with substandard Kevlar cloth between 1980 and 2006.
Former Nursing Home CEO Accused of Using Medicaid Money for Personal Use
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Former CEO of Church of Christ Care Center, Stephen Czekiel, has been charged with three counts of violating Michigan's Medicaid False Claims Act, all of which are felony charges. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox believes Czekiel knowingly presented and caused false claims to be submitted to the State's Medicate Program.
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More Katrina and FEMA
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
A report is due out today that shows that FEMA has exercised no oversight on the money handed out to Katrina victims.
Whistleblower Lawsuit Leads to the Arrest of Six Big Dig Workers
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
In May, 2005, a whistleblower lawsuit was filed in Suffolk Superior Court alleging that concrete provided by Aggregate Industries did not meet the strength specifications set in its state contract. One year later, the FBI arrested six employees of Aggregate on charges that they falsified records hiding the poor quality of the concrete.
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Methodist Hospitals sued for over $51 million
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
According to the Northwest Indiana Times, the United States government has filed a lawsuit against Methodist Hospitals, accusing the hospital chain of defrauding the U.S. of over 51 million dollars by over-billing Medicare.
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Iraq--a microcosm of government fraud
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
When the Reader's Digest runs a story on fraud on the U.S. government's Iraq contracts, it is no longer a "breaking story".
Boarder guard prediction
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The Washington Post recently announced that the National Guard being sent to the boarder is a temporary measure to be superseded by the privatization of boarder patrol troops.
Hawaii sues 44 drug companies
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
A small group of whistleblowers relying heavily on a handful of state false claims acts--and their qui tam provisions--have started a national trend of suing drug companies for overcharging states for medicine.
Hospital wage data crackdown
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
HHS OIG has been reviewing hospital wage data and, not surprisingly, found that hospitals are grossly overstating their wage data.
Hospital exclusion
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson announced May 8, 2006 that the OIG of the Department of Health and Human Services is targeting Alvarado Hospital Medical Center (a Tenet hospital). The OIG has formally signaled that it intends to exclude the hospital from participation in all federal healthcare programs.
Iraq bribery kickbacks and death
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The first two civilian deaths in occupied Iraq are now seemingly connected to an investigation unearthing evidence of corruption including bribery, kickbacks, and theft of U.S. government monies.
Katrina Rip-off
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
It is a sad state of affairs when skeptical qui tam lawyers watch a natural disaster such as hurricane Katrina, assume that the federal government is going to be ripped off by contractors, and it proves to be true.
Turn Yourselves In
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Daniel R. Levinson, HHS Inspector General, recently published an open letter to all healthcare providers to turn themselves in on matters involving kickback and Stark violations.
Grand Jury for former FDA commissioner
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The New York Times is reporting that the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Lester M. Crawford, is being investigated by a federal grand jury.
Red Cross in the news
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The Red Cross is usually referred to and thought of as a compassionate company that provides needed assistance for disaster relief and keeps the supply of blood flowing to the U.S. healthcare system. What happens to an organization like that when it encounters fraud, waste and abuse?
Iraq cash with no controls
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
On April 20, 2006, CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 aired a show about the free-fraud zone otherwise known as modern day Iraq.
States need whistleblower provisions
Category: Legislative Updates
Senator Chuck Grassley has tried to pressure the executive branch to get the word out that under a new federal law states must have whistleblower provisions to qualify for an additional 10% of Medicaid funds.
More Iraq-based whistleblower lawsuits
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
Yesterday, I noted that whistleblower lawsuits might be necessary to effectively break the logjam of prosecution of Iraq contractor fraud. I mentioned that there were a dozen such lawsuits filed. I was off by almost a factor of five.
Bribery for Jobs in Iraq
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The Washington Post reports that in documents unsealed yesterday, an American businessman has pleaded guilty to paying bribes in exchange for reconstruction contracts in Iraq.
Are PSCs Detecting Medicare Fraud? Don't Ask CMS
Category: Qui Tam Legal News
The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (OIG) has issued a report harshly critical of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for its oversight of private companies responsible for detecting Medicare fraud and abuse.
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Matria Settles False Claims Act Lawsuit for $9 Million
Category: Settlements and Verdicts
Matria Healthcare, Inc., a Georgia company, has agreed to pay $9 million to the United States to settle allegations of Medicare fraud relating to its former subsidiary, Diabetes Self Care, a Virginia-based provider of mail-order diabetic supplies. Two former employees, Kim Politsky and Sandra Clarke, had filed separate qui tam lawsuits against Matria and DSC in Georgia and Virginia. The two whistleblowers will split a relator's share of $1,980,000, or 22% of the settlement amount.
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