Whistleblowerlawyerblog Author Testifies In Support of Georgia Department of Community Health’s “State False Medicaid Claims Act”

This morning, a new state False Claims Act cleared a hurdle as it was approved by a Georgia legislative subcommittee.

Georgia’s new “State False Medicaid Claims Act,” which has qui tam whistleblower provisions similar to the federal False Claims Act, received unanimous support among members of the subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee chaired by Rep. Edward Lindsey of Atlanta.

Testifying in support of the new
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We were encouraged to see that Georgia has just joined the states that are considering a State “False Claims Act” with whistleblower provisions.

As we have discussed before on the Whistleblower Lawyer Blog, Congress has created great financial incentives for states that pass their own versions of the federal False Claims Act, with qui tam provisions that encourage whistleblowers. States can increase by 10% their share of Medicare fraud recoveries by passing their own False Claims Acts, but the state laws must pass muster with OIG and be at least as effective as the federal False Claims Act. Otherwise, as approximately seven other states were disappointed to find, the state does not receive an increase in its share of Medicare fraud recoveries.

Rep. Ed Lindsey is the sponsor of Georgia’s proposed “State False Medicaid Claims Act.” The new law would apply to Medicaid fraud and false claims, but not other fraud and false claims that cost the state taxpayers money.

Whistleblower suits that reveal Medicaid fraud in Texas have grabbed the attention of the Texas Legislature–which apparently recognizes how powerful state False Claims Acts can be.

Today’s Houston Chronicle reports that Texas is working through a “backlog” of Medicaid fraud cases, the top 20 of which could bring another $700 million to the State (and presumably a significant amount to whistleblowers).

Whistleblower cases have been so effective that the legislators asked what more could be accomplished with more resources provided to pursue these fraud
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