Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog
Good Georgia Lawyer represents whistleblower employees who “blow the whistle” on their employer when they come forward with information that their employer is defrauding the government by violating the Federal False Claims Act. Federal prosecutors report that they have added two new health care fraud teams this year and studies say that this might provide an 85 percent increase in the number of health care fraud prosecutions in 2011 compared to 2010.
Thus far, 903 prosecutions for health fraud have ben reported so far this year of 2011. This is actually a a 24% increase from last year’s total in 2010.
The recent past two year debate about health care reform has drawn the spotlight on the problem of health care fraud and its effect on the cost of health care. The Department of Justice reports that convictions have increased, so far there has been 24 trial convictions for fraud in Medicare compared to 23 last year.
In 2010, the United States recovered four billion dollars from health fraud cases after federal health care law established one health care fraud agency and enlarged another.
Medicare predicted provisions of the law would actually net $4.9 billion in abusive fraud savings in the ten years, which should be rolled back into Medicare.
The FBI’s health care fraud criminal investigation unit also reports an increase in cases, which specifically focuses on corporations or hospitals.
Good Georgia Lawyer has written extensively about whistleblower actions in Georgia as it is a subject that is near and dear to our heart. For some examples of false claims fraud against the government and reasons why you should blow the whistle, read here.
The reasons, as we explain in this article are that you can help save lives by:
• Protecting Consumers by preventing companies from selling defective products that injure and kill;
• Protecting patients by discouraging pharmaceutical companies from marketing off labels pharmaceutical drugs unlawfully and preventing corporations from committing medicare and medicaid fraud by having them perform unnecessary or incorrect medical procedures.
• Protecting Soldiers from government contractors who sell defective military bulletproof vests and other protective gear;
• Protecting the Environment by discouraging companies who unlawfully steal our land’s resources.
Other Reasons to Blow the Whistle:
You may be eligible to receive a portion (usually about 15 to 25 percent) of any recovered damages which sometimes can add up to millions of dollars in False Claims. It is important to be the person who reports it first because that person is the one who is entitled to financial reward. The law protects you from retaliation, demotion, harassment, and termination for reporting fraud.
If you work for a hospital, medical clinic, pharmeceutical company, or other corporation and you know that your company is cheating and defrauding the government, contact Williams Oinonen LLC today at 404-654-0288.