Most healthcare fraud is committed by a minority of unscrupulous healthcare providers who give the rest of the industry a bad name. It can be very distressing (and stressful) to uncover evidence of such dishonest conduct at your place of work. You want to do the right thing, but you’re not sure where to turn, who to trust, or what will happen to your job. The best thing to do in such a case is to speak confidentially with a whistleblower attorney who has experience with fighting healthcare fraud.
Fighting Healthcare Fraud Under the False Claims Act
If you have evidence that your company is committing Medicare fraud or otherwise defrauding the government, your best option might be to file a qui tam lawsuit under the False Claims Act and related state laws. This is a type of lawsuit brought by a private party, such as an employee, on behalf of the government. If the case succeeds and the government recovers funds, the person who filed the lawsuit is entitled to receive a portion of the recovery.
Qui tam lawsuits are filed under seal, which means they are not publicly disclosed. Not even the defendant company is informed of the lawsuit in the initial stages, and usually will find out about the case only after the government has had time to investigate the situation.
Qui tam lawsuits typically take years to resolve. However, they provide a way for employees to stand up against fraud and receive substantial rewards for doing the right thing. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that it recovered $3 billion in qui tam cases in 2014 alone and paid out $435 million to whistleblowers such as yourself.
Will I Lose My Job for Reporting Company Healthcare Fraud?
The federal False Claims Act provides protection against retaliation for whistleblowers who report fraud against the government. It is unlawful for your employer to discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass or discriminate in any way in respect to the terms and conditions of your employment as retaliation for blowing the whistle.
If your employer retaliates against you for filing a qui tam lawsuit, you are entitled to seek compensation in a court of law. The law provides for all relief needed to make you “whole” after job-related retaliation, which may include:
- Reinstatement in your job
- Twice the amount of back pay owed
- Interest on back pay
- Court costs
- Reasonable attorney fees
- Special damages
Get Help from a Whistleblower Lawyer If You Have Discovered Company Healthcare Fraud
At Kreindler & Associates, we focus our practice exclusively on representing False Claims Act whistleblowers. Fighting fraud is all we do. We take most of our cases on a contingent fee basis, which means that you pay us nothing for our services until we are successful in your qui tam case.
Contact us for a free consultation. Our experienced False Claims Act lawyers are committed to providing professional counsel and support to whistleblowers who have made the difficult decision to do the right thing.
