Are you looking for answers regarding how Medicare whistleblower rewards are paid? The truth is Medicare whistleblowers can wind up with a very lucrative payout. By seeking qualified representation for whistleblower law and Qui Tam Law cases, a whistleblower’s potential for a payout from the liable parties can be substantial.
What Is the Whistleblower Law?
The whistleblower law is part of the False Claims Act, which was created in 1863 to crack down on Civil War profiteering. The False Claims Act was revamped and amended by Congress in 1989, making it more accessible and rewarding for any citizen to report false claims against the government. In essence, the law provides both reward and protection from retribution for someone who reports a validated fraud against the government or against public interest.
Whistleblowers, those who speak up about illegal practices affecting government agencies and other industries, have often been silenced by various forms of retribution including job loss, promotion freezes, blacklisting, and many other damaging practices.
The whistleblower law encourages citizens to come forward and inform the government of such fraudulent acts by protecting them from these consequences. The addition of the Qui Tam Law extends these rights by allowing the whistleblower to be rewarded financially, based on the amount recovered by the government in the court action.
How Does Qui Tam Work?
The Qui Tam Law allows an individual, known as a relator, to bring a lawsuit based on claims against the False Claims Act. The citizen, with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about the False Claims Act, brings the evidence to the court and asks the court to investigate the claim.
A relator is someone who has first-hand knowledge about the fraud. They will have access to documents to prove the claim. A Qui Tam claim is kept under seal, confidential, for at least 60 days, initially, although it is not uncommon for the court to extend this time. During the investigation, the entire matter is kept secret. The individual(s) being investigated are not made aware of the allegations or the inquiry.
Evidence in these cases can include things like shipping reports, invoices, bidding information, profit information among many other types of documents. The evidence must be first-hand, direct knowledge, supported by documents. If the court decides there is ample evidence to proceed, they will intervene, and they will then prosecute the case.
You remain a party to the case and cannot be dismissed or removed from the case without a hearing. If the government does not intervene, you can continue the case without them, through your whistleblower representation lawyer. It is much harder to win without the government intervention, but if you do, the reward is higher.
How Are Medicare Whistleblowers Paid?
The relator- whistleblower- is paid via a system determined by the False Claims Act. It begins with the court determining the amount of the penalties owed by the provider or practice. As a part of the lawsuit, the number of violations is added up. The letter of the law states that every single line of billing that is fraudulent is a separate violation, even if there are 25 on a single form. However, many courts have determined that each form is a violation, even if there are 25 separate entries. Once the number of violations is clear, the formula comes into play.
For each count, there is a penalty of between $5,500 and $11,000. Also, the amount of money the government was defrauded is refunded times three. When you consider that a winning case in court probably has hundreds or thousands of claims, the penalties can add up to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases.
The relator- the whistleblower- is awarded from 15-30% of the money recovered by the government. The potential for a very large reward is clear. It is not unusual for whistleblowers to receive rewards in the millions of dollars on large, high profile claims.
Some of the highest payouts ever made to whistleblowers include Medicare fraud. In 1999, Whistleblower George Courto, who worked for Bayer, filed a Qui Tam action against his employer and GlaxoSmithKline for selling relabeled drugs to an HMO on the cheap and not reporting the information to avoid paying millions of dollars in rebates to Medicaid. The total payout came to $344 million dollars and $34 million went to the estate of the whistleblower. In another Medicare case, GlaxoSmithKline paid out $333 million in penalties. The whistleblower here received over $53 million.
If you work for any provider that bills to Medicare and you are concerned about fraud issues, you should talk to an attorney who can help. The best way to know if an actual crime is being committed, and to keep yourself protected in the event of a blame-game, is to speak with an attorney who deals exclusively with whistleblower Qui Tam cases. Have questions about how Medicare whistleblowers are paid? Click to contact the Bothwell Law Group online.