Periodically, we review the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services enforcement action docket. There are literally tens of thousands of healthcare providers across the country. Most participate in the Medicare or Medicaid health programs. The government periodically audits a small percentage of these providers each year. When a significant problem is uncovered, the government can […]
Feds Take Ambulance Company Owners For A Ride – Health Care Fraud
Earlier this month, a federal judge in Philadelphia sentenced Aleksandr N. Zagorodny, 40, to 78 months in prison for a health care fraud scheme involving MedEx Ambulance, Inc. He was the former president of the business. His brother, Sergey Zagorodny, 36, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his involvement in the health care […]
Anatomy of a False Claims Act Lawsuit
Recently we wrote about the record false claims act (whistleblower) award paid to pharmacist T. Mark Jones an his company Ven-A-Care. The sheer size of the awards – $597,000,000.00 is itself newsworthy and an inspiration to whistleblowers everywhere. Every time we write about a false claims act case, we get questions from readers. In this […]
Heads on Beds – Assisted Living Facility Whistleblowers Post
[Post Updated through 2019] Whistleblowers play a critical role in the fight against rising healthcare costs. The biggest area of fraud – one that costs the government billions of dollars in fraud annually – is the Medicare program. Because Medicare is subsidized with tax dollars, healthcare providers that bill for unnecessary or poor quality services […]
Fake Drugs Represent New Whistleblower Opportunity
Fake and gray market pharmaceuticals represent a growing problem in the United States. Medical providers pressed by mounting costs sometimes resort to purchasing drugs manufactured in Turkey, India and other foreign countries. Unless produced in an FDA inspected facility, there is no way to insure those drugs are safe or even contain the prescribed amount […]
Whistleblower Opportunities Abound – Medicaid Fraud At All Time High
by Brian Mahany With all the press and media attention on big whistleblower case these days, one would think that fraud would soon go the way of smallpox, it would be eradicated. Unfortunately, as long as greed continues in our society, so will fraud. A couple weeks ago, Congress’ House Committee on Oversight and Government […]
The Tie Between Political Corruption and Violations of the False Claims Act
by Brian Mahany The federal false claims act was enacted during the Civil War to help a weak and struggling federal government recoup its losses from a multitude of government contractors who sold rancid rations, faulty gun powder and bad equipment to the Union Army. It’s purpose wasn’t to fight government corruption but in the […]