False Claims Act Update & Alert
	Taxpayers Against Fraud Education Fund | Washington, D.C. | WWW.TAF.ORG           July 27, 2011
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		Subscribe to this FREE Newsletter Enter your Email Powered by FeedBlitz n TAF Home Page n Previous Newsletters n Email editor   Please take a moment to forward this FREE electronic newsletter to others that might be interested!	LabCorp to Pay $49.5M for Medicaid Fraud LabCorps has agreed to pay $49.5 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit claiming the company overcharged California's Medicaid program and gave doctors kickbacks for patient referrals. This settlement is the second of seven False Claims Act cases brought by Chris Riedel, CEO of Hunter Laboratories. The first settlement, paid by Quest Diagnostics, was for $241 million. >> To read more
			What the IRS Could Learn from the SEC While the Internal Revenue Service's whistleblower program has more than 2,000 cases jammed in the pipeline, the SEC's whistleblower program appears to be moving forward, with rapid responses to tips, and integration of FBI forensic accountants.  What's the agency doing so right? Well for one thing, they have implemented a "Tips, Complaints and Referrals" Database to track cases, and they have increased training in fraud investigations across the board. >>  To read more
			No More Finders Keepers The U.S. Office of Management and Budget estimates that the Federal Government overpays contractors and program beneficiaries by $125 billion a year. Now, four senators (Tom Carper, D-DE; Joe Lieberman, I-CN.; Susan Collins, R-ME; and Scott Brown, R-MA) have written legislation to strengthen last year's Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act. >> To read more
			DoJ Intervenes In Nurses' Registry Lawsuit The United States has intervened in a lawsuit against Kentucky-based Nurses' Registry and Home Health Corporation. A qui tam False Claims Act case was filed in March 2008 by two former Nurses’ Registry employees, Alicia Robinson-Hill and David Price, alleging that Nurses’ Registry made false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary home health services. >> To read more
			Blackwater Trial Starts in Virginia The North Carolina-based security firm once known as Blackwater, and now known as Xe, will be in court this week defending themselves against charges the company overbilled the federal government for services in Iraq and Afghanistan, and submitted phony reimbursements and other bogus expenses to pad out their bills. >> To read more
			DaVita Under the Gun for "Burn to Earn" DaVita, one of the largest renal care companies in the United States, appears to have encouraged doctors to use larger vials of medication than needed, and to then throw the excess down the drain while billing it to Medicare and Medicaid. A qui tam case has been filed alleging the practice cost the U.S. Government hundreds of millions of dollars and only stopped when Medicare began charging dialysis under a bundled payment system, with no extra billing for drugs possible. >>  To read more
			Fox in the Chicken House? Verizon and Northrop Grumman have helped develop new technology to detect and prevent Medicare and Medicaid fraud.  What's amusing is that both companies have themselves been nailed for fraud, with Verizon paying $93 million earlier this year for adding junk billing to GSA phone bills, and Northrop Grumman on three other occasions totaling $250 million.  >> To read more
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