Momentum Grows For Ohio False Claims Act

From Today’s Columbus Dispatch:

Describing the Care Source Settlement:

“The case also highlights how Ohio could benefit from enacting its own False Claims Act.

“If we had that in place, our percentage of the (CareSource) settlement would have gone up 10 percent,” said Attorney General Mike DeWine, referring to the state’s $10 million share of the settlement. A recent change in federal law gives a larger cut to states with laws similar to the Federal False Claims Act, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln because suppliers were spiking Union gunpowder with sawdust.”

This should be the easiest vote of the 2011-2012 legislative session.

By enacting an Ohio False Claims Act the Ohio Legislature can enact a bill that will close the state budget deficit and root out fraud and corruption. The only thing standing in the way are the industries that have been fleecing Ohio taxpayers for generations.

If you agree, Sign the petition we will pass the results on to the members of the Ohio General Assembly and Governor Kasich:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ohiofalseclaimsact/

Better yet, pass the link on to others who agree that the State of  Ohio should enlist its citizens in the fight against government fraud.

For more information about Whistleblower Law.

Marc Dann

mdann@dannlaw.com

Ohio Needs a State False Claims Act

I agree with Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Ohio needs a state false claims act.

In today’s Dayton Daily News the newly elected Attorney General added his support to the support of of Ohio’s last 4 Attorneys General  who all supported such legislation.

As an Ohio Senator  I co-sponsored legislation to create a State False Claims Act.  But it is when I became Attorney General that I fully appreciated the importance of  this tool, that most states and the U.S. Government have to root out fraud and corruption in government contracting, from medicaid fraud to the purchase of supplies.

Ohio is one of the largest states in the United States without a State False Claims Act. For years lobbyists for nursing homes, hospitals, doctors and the construction industry have blocked efforts to enact a state false claims act.

A state False Claims act would allow individual citizen whistleblowers to bring forward evidence of fraud against the government and if the State is successful in recovering damages, the whistleblower would be eligible to receive a “bounty” or percentage of the money collected on behalf of the state.

The Federal False Claims Act, in one form or another has been working successfully since the Civil War.  A recently enacted SEC Whistleblower law has immediately yielded impressive results. Reuter’s reports today that tips to the SEC have skyrocketed after the enactment of a False Claims process.

Its time for Ohio’s General Assembly to stand up to those entrenched special interests and create a mechanism for Ohio Citizens to identify and prosecute fraud against the state government.

Ohio is already being penalized in the Medicaid recoveries made under the Federal False Claims act because it has not enacted its own Qui Tam Statute.

$26 Million Recovered for Ohio Medicaid Because Two Courageous Whistleblowers Stuck Their Neck Out To Make Sure that Poor Children and Their Families Got the Healthcare That Taxpayers were Paying For

From Today’s Columbus Dispatch:

…Not long after Robin Herzog started a nursing job with a managed-health-care company, she started feeling sick.

“You know how you get that knotty feeling … in your stomach that something isn’t right? That’s how it felt almost immediately,” said Herzog, 41, a former employee of CareSource, Ohio Medicaid’s largest managed-care provider and the nation’s fourth-biggest.

Click Here:

For More information about The False Claims Act and the Ability of Citizens to Fight Government Fraud

Whistleblowers Matter: Enhanced Efforts To Root Out Fraud Can Enhance Health Care Reform

Many of the issues being discussed in Congress under the rubric of health care reform are already being addressed by a small band of Whistleblowers and their lawyers who bring cases under the Federal False Claims Act 31 USC  3729-3733. This relatively simple law (recently strengthened by Congress) allows anyone who knows of fraud against the federal government to bring suit on behalf of the U.S. Treasury and if suit is successful to claim a bounty from the proceeds of any recovery to the federal treasury. The billions of dollars spent through the Federal Government’s Medicare, Medicaid and Champus (healthcare for the military). A recent $2.3 Billion settlement with Pfizer for illegally promoting and billing these federal government programs for off label use of their product is just the tip of the iceberg.

On a smaller scale, unethical physicians, hospitals and businesses are committing millions if not billions of dollars of fraud every day by billing for unnecessary services, misrepresenting the value of the services for which they bill, self-referring in violation of the Stark Law or violating the Federal Anti-Kickback law. Fraud by such medical providers have been exposed by a diverse group of whistleblowers including billing staff, competitors, sales and marketing staff for drug companies and other providers and patients.

Those involved in submitting the claims or marketing false schemes not only risk personal financial liability but also the possibility of criminal prosecution.

It is not just the work of Congress to reform healthcare policy in the United States.  Any person who suspects medicare, Medicaid or Champus fraud should consider whether or not they have an obligation report the fraud.

As one would imagine, those accused of fraud and facing potential civil damages and even criminal liability will fight allegations of fraud vigorously.

That is why it is critical that anyone who suspect that they know of fraud against the government (in healthcare or other fields) should seek the counsel of a lawyer experienced in the area of False Claims (also known as Qui Tam).