The Occupational Safety and Health Act was passed in 1970 and created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect employees from dangerous working conditions and to standardize workplace safety. Over the years, it has been amended many times and now includes provisions that protect employees from retaliation from…
Every day we hear shocking news about the opioid epidemic, from the number of deaths from overdoses to the sheer amount of distribution arrests to the amount of money government is spending to combat the problem. One of the areas that the public may not know about, however, is how…
A doctor was arrested on December 13, 2018 for improperly distributing opioids to his patients and billing Medicare for the drugs. The doctor now faces 45 federal charges relating to healthcare fraud for not only prescribing illicit drugs to patients but requiring those with insurance to accept injections so that…
One mistake that many Medicare recipients make is assuming that all their basic medical needs are covered under Medicare. In fact, there are a lot of commonly needed medical services that Medicare does not pay for. By becoming informed about the coverage gaps in your Medicare policy, you are not…
As a whistleblower who has filed a qui tam case, your goal is to convince the government to prosecute your case. However, this is usually not an easy task. In fact, there are many situations in which the government may choose to dismiss your False Claims Act (“FCA”) claim, and…
During this final week of Medicare open enrollment, you may receive multiple calls each day regarding your Medicare coverage. Many of these calls may be scams, and unless you know exactly what to watch out for, these scams can be difficult to spot. Make sure you follow the guidelines below…
While whistleblowers sometimes get a bad rap as “snitches,”the opposite in fact is true. By revealing their employers’ illegal actions, whistleblowers help society in ways that only whistleblowers can. If you have any doubts about whether you should blow the whistle on your employer’s illegal actions, contact the whistleblower attorneys…
One of the most common types of healthcare fraud in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA) is pharmaceutical fraud. It is also one of the most highly reported types of healthcare fraud, with over $4.5 billion of financial penalties issued from qui tam lawsuits in 2012 alone. While whistleblowers…
There is no such thing as “good” fraud, but on the hierarchy of Medicare fraud from bad to worst, hospice fraud is arguably one of the most despicable types. Medicare Part A covers hospice care for patients who are “terminally ill,” or have a life expectancy of six months or…
One common concern that holds people back from becoming whistleblowers is the fear that they will face discipline for being involved in the same fraud they are now reporting. Sometimes employees feel coerced by their employer into partaking in fraudulent actions, and other times the employee may have been the…