What You Need to Know About the False Claims Act

The False Claims Act (FCA) was implemented to prevent false claims made that robbed the government of millions of dollars every year. This law was initially meant to curb false claims made within the defence industry. It then went on to include false claims made in other industries like the medical industry. Given below is the latest review of the False Claims Act.  False Claims Act is stringent False Claims lawyers are an asset to your institution as over the years, the FCA has been extended to includes numerous industries and fraudulent activities happening in them. This is mainly because the FCA is a very stringent Act. The burden of proof, preponderance of evidence, and the disregard of scienter standards, are just a few of the reasons why enforcement under the FCA is much more effective than other statutes.  Cyber security is covered under the Act In the month of October 2021, the Department of Justice officially announced that cyber fraud committed by government contrac...

Lawyers for doctors in the US do more than just help them with paperwork and registrations. They protect the doctors against allegations of healthcare fraud. These allegations, if left undefended, could end in a conviction which could lead to imprisonment, penalties, loss of license to practice, etc. This blog outlines the significance of doctors for lawyers. They intimate you of crimes Most doctors are not even aware that their actions constitute healthcare fraud under various laws. A lawyer for doctors will be able to intimate them of what actions of theirs attract penal provisions of anti-healthcare fraud laws in the US. Healthcare fraud can be broadly categorized as making deliberate misrepresentations, deliberately receiving incentives for referrals, or making referrals that are illegal. Specifically, this could look like billing for services not provided or offered, ordering services that are medically unnecessary, billing for appointments that were not kept, etc. They intimate ...

The unfortunate state of affairs across the globe is that people seldom realize the need for an attorney until they find themselves at the wrong end of a lawsuit. In a general sense, a lawyer has the expertise to use the law to defend you in the event that you are accused of a crime. This is all the more relevant to medical health practitioners and institutions because medical malpractice suits have been on a steady rise, and they have proven to be costly to doctors who are not properly represented. Given below are a few reasons to hire a lawyer for doctors. They will explain the case A lawyer for doctors will read the available paperwork, and hear your story, and explain to you if a case or defense exists. This is important because unless you realize the effect a case will have on you, you will not be able to properly respond to the situation, and these lawyers will help you get there in no time.  The lawyers will handle paperwork This is perhaps one of the major benefits of hiri...

Healthcare fraud simply refers to an act that intends to defraud a healthcare program of the Government. An act or an omission could be violative of the various laws regulating healthcare fraud in the US. However, the key piece to each one of these trials is the intention, and only an experienced lawyer for doctors can help exonerate you from any charge of healthcare fraud. Common examples of healthcare fraud Common examples of healthcare fraud include but are not limited to kickbacks, ghost patients, services not rendered, up-coding services, inflation of cost reports, bundling and unbundling, financial interest that is improper, false certification, etc. How to recognize you are accused Receipt of a healthcare audit request is a sign that you are being investigated for healthcare fraud. A Civil Investigative Demand or a CID is another sign. A more obvious sign is when you are subpoenaed by the Department of Health or when the Department of Justice (DOJ) issues a grand jury subpoena ...

A whistleblower attorney can help determine if you have a viable lawsuit. Here are a few questions that a whistleblower attorney can help you determine whether the information you have can be used to institute a whistleblower lawsuit. What type of wrong has been committed? The first question to ask when seeking to determine the validity of your information is, “what type of wrong has been committed?” Whistleblowers can report numerous wrongs under various statutes. Consult a whistleblower lawyer to determine whether the information you have attracts any penalties under law. What benefit can be received? Institution of whistleblower lawsuits requires an investment of time, effort, and money, amongst other resources. It is pertinent that you weigh how worthwhile a lawsuit would be before you proceed with it. Under certain statutes, whistleblowers are entitled to a percentage of the money recovered through the lawsuit under certain statutes, and whistleblower attorneys can help...

If you are considering instituting a lawsuit as a whistleblower, the 3 fundamental questions that would come up in your head are – “What should be proved?”, “What’s the potential recovery?” and “How should it be filed?” Let us look at how False Claims Act attorneys can help you answer these questions. What should be proved? The first question to be answered is “what should be proved?” Unless you know exactly what should be proved in a Court of law, there is no point in filing a lawsuit. A False Claims Act attorney can help you understand what should be proved in court to make your case. What’s the potential recovery? There is never a guarantee that you will receive the entire reward promised by statute. A False Claims lawyer will be able to correctly evaluate the seriousness of the false claim alleged and based on experience, can make an educated guess as to the potential recovery. This will help you decide whether to go ahead with the filing of a lawsuit or not. How should i...

Medicare fraud is an umbrella that encompasses scams related to documentation, billing, medical prescriptions, etc. The laws surrounding medicare fraud impose heavy penalties on doctors found guilty of defrauding the government. Additionally, it also rewards the whistle-blower who initiates medicare fraud prosecutions. The enticement of this reward has caused many doctors to be falsely accused of various frauds, as mentioned below. Only a medical staff lawyer can help a doctor falsely accused to prove their innocence in court. Defend yourself against allegations of billing fraud Some of the most common billing frauds alleged against doctors include upcoding, unbundling, and double billing. Upcoding refers to including a more expensive bill code for the service provided, unbundling refers to assigning various bill codes for services with one common code, and double-billing refers to billing for the same service twice. Only an experienced lawyer for doctors can help you clear yourself o...