New York Consumers Can Reap Millions As Medicaid Or Medicare Whistleblowers
When a medical provider in New York State -- a hospital, doctor, clinic, pharmacy or medical supply company -- commits fraud against New York State, everyone pays. You, as a taxpayer, end up picking up the state's losses through an increase in your state and local taxes. But individuals who know of fraud being committed against New York State and/or New York City can put a stop to it by becoming whistleblowers.
Under New York State’s (and New York City’s) whistleblower law known as the False Claims Act (“FCA”), a whistleblower can bring a "Qui Tam" lawsuit against companies and individuals that are cheating New York State and/or New York City. A Qui Tam lawsuit is an action filed by an individual on behalf of the state and/or city under the FCA.
In the face of widespread fraud and in an effort to strengthen New York State’s efforts to fight Medicaid fraud, which is driving up spending and taxes at the state and local levels, Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos announced the creation of the Senate Republican Task Force on Medicaid Fraud. “There is no excuse for tolerating any fraud in a program that is the fastest-growing and largest single component of state and county budgets,” said Senator Skelos. “Medicaid fraud drives up state spending and taxes as well as local property taxes. We must fight fraud aggressively, restore accountability and integrity to the Medicaid program, and ensure that tax dollars are spent wisely to help the people who really need help, not enrich criminals who prey on the system.”
“Medicaid fraud is possibly costing New York State taxpayers billions of dollars. It’s crucial that we act immediately to prevent this type of fraud at the state and local levels,” said Senator Kemp Hannon. “During a time when every single cent counts, we cannot afford to let the possibility of this amount of money fall through the cracks of the system through fraud and abuse.”
Indeed, whistleblowers are rewarded a significant portion of the proceeds collected on behalf of New York State or New York City. In fact, whistleblowers are entitled to collect at a minimum 15% to 30% of the total amount of the fraudulent money recovered, and many whistleblowers have collected millions of dollars.
The widespread problem of Medicaid fraud has been highlighted by several reports issued by the state Comptroller’s office that documented millions of dollars in Medicaid overpayments and billing errors. Chemung County Executive Thomas J. Santulli, President of the New York Association of Counties, said, “Recently, New York City and forty-two New York Counties obtained a victory in federal court against 13 pharmaceutical manufacturers for fraudulent pricing through the Medicaid Program. These types of actions continue to demonstrate the relevance and importance of county governments insuring the integrity of the Medicaid Program in New York.” Moreover, in December, the state Comptroller released the results of an audit that identified as much as $92 million in Medicaid overpayments, billing errors and other problems.
If you are aware of Medicaid and/or Medicare fraud being committed against New York State and/or New York city by a doctor, hospital, clinic, pharmacy and/or medical supply company, you may be entitled to a multi-million dollar award. You can help hardworking New York taxpayers from being cheated -- and earn millions of dollars in the process -- by blowing the whistle on Medicaid and Medicare fraud.
If you know or suspect that Medicaid and/or Medicare fraud is being committed in New York, please contact us to discuss your legal options.