Last week, Rite Aid, America’s third largest retail pharmacy after CVS and Walgreens, settled two massive whistleblower cases, agreeing to pay potentially upwards of $500 million to resolve disparate allegations of healthcare fraud. The Opioid Dispensing Settlement: Last Wednesday, the Department of Justice announce that Rite Aid will pay up to roughly $410 million to […]
Medicare spending on a subset of cardio procedures has skyrocketed and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) has taken note, apparently now on the hunt for fraudsters. Certain minimally invasive peripheral vascular procedures, such as atherectomies and angioplasties, are meant to alleviate blockages and improve blood flow when arteries are narrowed due to peripheral arterial […]
The 2023 Annual Report from the IRS Whistleblower Office, while not breathless reading, has evolved from a short, dry affair, to a nicely organized and, more importantly, significantly more informative document. Even better? The report includes some real bright spots for the program that show that it is continuing to improve and grow toward its […]
We are pleased to announce that Lawdragon has named Chris McLamb to its 2024 “Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation” guide, which is designed to identify “the future leaders of the law.” Chris is a Partner in our Washington, DC office. Lawdragon is a leading publisher of “best lawyer” guides recognizing the most effective […]
There is no bigger target for fraud than the Medicare Advantage program, which insures over half of Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. The New York Times reports that “Most large insurers in the program have been accused in court of fraud.” Understaffed government auditors cannot keep up. Not satisfied with the unlevel playing field, however, one of the […]
Whistleblower watchdogs have proven to be essential in aiding the Government’s efforts to protect the public against cybersecurity breaches and vulnerabilities, as evidenced by two recent stories making news headlines. First, whistleblower Elevation 33, LLC, an entity owned by a former Guidehouse employee, helped DOJ secure an $11.5M settlement, one of the largest cybersecurity settlements […]
A recent Federal court decision coming out of New Jersey demonstrates the viability of an unusual kind of whistleblower, a privately defrauded party. The most common protype of a whistleblower under the False Claims Act (FCA) is a corporate insider who sees fraud against the government at their employer or a company they work with […]
Like many tech companies before them, Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies are rapidly moving into the government contracting industry. Lucrative defense contracts, as well as work related to healthcare, education, and other public goods, are simply worth too much for these companies to ignore. But what too many tech companies are too quick to forget is […]
The federal government spends roughly $6 trillion annually. A huge amount of that money goes into certain, predictable categories year after year. Spending on Medicare and Medicaid account for roughly 25% of the federal budget, defense spending, in recent years accounts for another 15% or so. Social Security payments and interest account for another 33% […]
Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere these days. It’s upending industries, driving record stock market returns, and, like all revolutionary technologies, generally disrupting our current world as it pushes us towards something new. Its power is both awesome and ever changing. Can AI one day become a whistleblower? Under the False Claims Act, whistleblowers can […]
