2026 Whistleblowers of the Year
During its 26th Annual Conference, The Anti-Fraud Coalition bestowed the Whistleblower of the Year Award to Ronda Osinek, Dr. James Taylor, Gloryanne Bryant, and Victoria Hernandez. For nearly 13 years, these four courageous individuals carried the stress and anxiety of pending whistleblower claims while facing professional and personal challenges. Their persistence helped drive a record $556 million settlement with Kaiser Permanente and several of its affiliates, the largest False Claims Act settlement under the Medicare Advantage program.
This award recognizes whistleblowers who achieved outstanding results, overcame especially challenging circumstances, and/or brought change to an industry through their incredible efforts in the last year.
Their stories are ones of rare integrity, perseverance, and resilience. By standing firm against fraud despite repeated acts of retaliation, they have helped drive meaningful change within the Medicare Advantage industry.
Ronda Osinek worked as Data Quality Trainer and Audit Manager at Kaiser Permanente’s San Rafael facility when she discovered improper risk adjustment practices. Her decision to step forward as a relator upended her professional and personal life for over 12 years. She was driven from her role at Kaiser by her discomfort with its ongoing fraud and struggled to find new employment in the same field. After nearly two years of searching, she was retaliated against at her new workplace and ultimately terminated. Nevertheless, she endured in her pursuit of justice.
Dr. James Taylor, a doctor, executive, and recognized coding expert, was a Medical Director in Kaiser’s Colorado Medical Group when he discovered systematic coding errors resulting in inflated risk adjustment scores and overpayments. His whistleblowing risked his livelihood at a career juncture when most professionals would want to rest on their laurels, and he had to seek new employment. His commitment to justice created ripple effects: government enforcement attorneys leaned on his expertise to learn about the Medicare Advantage program as they built this case and others in this new area of fraud.
Gloryanne Bryant may well have been Kaiser’s most respected coding expert during her tenure and retained her bona fides long after retirement. She faced immense pressure to conform her ethical coding standards to Kaiser’s unlawful ones, and she stood her ground for years, fighting the most powerful people and interest groups at Kaiser to try to stop the fraud. She filed her claims only after it was clear Kaiser would not change its conduct, retiring years earlier than she otherwise would have to preserve her moral standing and pursue these claims.
Victoria Hernandez, a highly respected senior coding expert at Kaiser, raised concerns about coding errors and fraud in Kaiser’s Northern California region and was immediately retaliated against. When harassment and bullying made her working conditions intolerable and it became clear she was being set up for termination, she was forced to resign from a company where she had spent 20 years as a stellar employee. She remained committed to the fight as co-relator with Ms. Bryant. The two came forward knowing the path to personal recovery was uncertain, believing they held critical information the government did not have, including Kaiser’s use of unethical coding practices beyond Medicare Advantage, in its Affordable Care Act program.
“Ronda Osinek, Dr. James Taylor, Gloryanne Bryant, and Victoria Hernandez carried the immense weight of standing up against corporate fraud. Despite facing career devastation, retaliation, and profound personal sacrifice, their unwavering resilience led to the largest Medicare Advantage False Claims Act settlement in history. Honoring them as Whistleblowers of the Year is a tribute to their enduring impact on healthcare integrity,” said Jacklyn DeMar.
Award Nomination Process
The Whistleblower of the Year Award and others are nominated by the general membership of The Anti-Fraud Coalition before the organization’s annual conference. Once submitted, The Anti-Fraud Coalition’s Conference & Member Education Committee deliberates and votes on award recipients.
