Wednesday, October 29, 2008

New Orleans Hospital Pays $3.3 Million for Alleged Medicaid Fraud

A qui tam lawsuit, initiated by a whistleblower and followed through by the federal government, resulted in a $3.3 million settlement between Medicaid and the New Orleans, West Jefferson Medical Center. The suit, brought under federal and state False Claims Act, alleges the hospital accepted overpayment from Medicaid for services they were not equipped to perform. The settlement was claimed as a “successful civil resolution”.

Click here to read the full article, New Orleans Area Hospital to Pay $3.3 Million to Resolve Medicaid Fraud Allegations.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

School District Pays Second Time for Improper Use of Government Funds

A San Diego school district will pay the federal government $300,000 in a settlement which accused the school of improperly charging the National Science Foundation. The claim alleges that San Diego Unified charged more than $1.7 million to the foundation, while failing to document costs, overcharging and charging “unallowable” costs. The school district denies any wrongdoing and settlement documents do not detail how the money was allegedly improperly spent. Earlier in the year the U.S. Department of Education found the same district improperly used $3 million in federal funding.

Click here to read more about the San Diego Unified School District and the charges of questionable allocation of government funds.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

More: Another NJ Hospital Pays in Medicare Fraud

As part of a whistleblower case, New Jersey Hospital St. Joseph Healthcare System Inc. will pay $1.75 million to the federal government for engaging in Medicare fraud. This is the latest in a string of multi-million dollar settlements in qui tam lawsuits against New Jersey hospitals. All have had some part in dealing with Medicare fraud, often inflating reimbursement claims to receive additional, or “outlier”, payments. Whistleblowers have been key in all similar lawsuits thus far.

Click here to read the full article, Whistleblower Case Against New Jersey Hospital for Medicare Fraud Settles for $1.75 Million

Friday, October 17, 2008

New Resource for Whistleblowers to Learn Their Rights

Whistleblowers now have a new resource to turn to when faced with potential retaliation from employers. A new report from the Government Accountability Project (GAP) recommends strategies for corporate whistleblowers to protect themselves. The report, Running the Gauntlet: The Campaign for Credible Corporate Whistleblower Rights navigates, “dysfunctional legal protections”. The report is available for free from GAP’s website.

Click here to read the article, GAP Report Calls for Overhaul of Corporate Whistleblower Laws

Click here to download the free report Running the Gauntlet: The Campaign for Credible Corporate Whistleblower Rights

Monday, October 13, 2008

Whistleblower Compensated After Company Retaliated

A repair company for commercial aircraft has paid $30,000 to a whistleblower after it was revealed that the company fired the woman for revealing they had ignored federal air-safety standards. The former employee was fired after raising safety concerns when she found the company, American Power, was using old data on new paperwork to certify safety testing. American has admitted no wrongdoing, but has agreed to post information on whistleblower rights in its workplace.

Click here to read more about the whistleblower being paid $30,000 by American Power

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