How Does Federal False Claims Act Work?

The false claim act is a federal law that poses liabilities on persons and companies who defraud governmental programs. It is regarded as one of the most effective tools to combat fraud against the federal government. The false claim act is often referred to as Lincoln’s Law and it has been considered as highly effective in combating fraud and abuse in government contracts for defense, energy, construction, housing, natural disaster recovery, and other forms of government procurement. The law includes qui tam provision, which allows people to file action on behalf of the government.

How does false claim act work?

The False Claim Act allows people (relators) to file a lawsuit against those who directly or indirectly defrauded the federal government. The lawsuit can be filed against the individual, businesses, and entity. The cases are filed by the whistleblower, a person who exposes any illegal activity or pass on the information about the unethical activities undertaking within the organization to the government.

The whistleblower who brings the case against an individual under the false claim act files the complaint under seal. It means that neither the defendant nor the public is aware of the charges under which the complaint is filed. The complaint remains under seal for 60 days until the time the government investigates the charges and allegation files by the whistleblower. Filing the case under false claim act seems to be complex. If the whistleblower fails to submit accurate reports in the manner required by the False Claims Act can result in a dismissal of the whistleblower’s lawsuit. In this circumstance, the whistleblower seeks the help of the false claims act attorney, who can help ensure their claim is filed and litigated properly and in a manner that protects their rights.

The false claim act attorney ensures that the allegations filed by the whistleblower against an individual or entity are correct.

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Why Whistleblowers is Important for Physicians?

A job of a physician involves working for long and irregular hours. Physicians may have to frequently travel between their office and hospital to address the concerns of their patients in case of emergency. Their work is certainly hectic and demands continuous efforts on a day-to-day basis. Since physicians can cure even some of the severe illnesses, patients consider them to be a blessing in disguise. However, several cases are reported against physicians for deceiving patients, as it has become rampant in the nursing industry. Many hospitals and medical service providers across the globe have turned to illegal practices to boost their foundation.

Following are some examples of frauds done by the physicians in hospitals:

• Billing for patients that never existed
• Using cheap medical equipment, but billing for premium services
• Billing for services that haven’t been performed
• Billing more than once for similar service
• Waiving co-payments consistently

Steps to limit fraud or false claims by a physician

The government has taken serious steps to recognize and stop these frauds in the medical industry that lead to inefficiency and excessively increased costs of treatments. After considering all options, the government has decided to provide a financial incentive to people who witness illegal practices and are willing to file a report.

If you come across a situation, where you believe the government is being tricked illegally by physicians, you can also be one of the whistleblowers that recover between 15 to 30 percent amount from their scheme of fraud lawsuit. You can play an important role in stopping these illegal activities by filing legal actions against fraud or false claims by a physician. Your act of whistleblowing against harmful deeds of physicians will not only highlight your courage but will also help out society to abolish corrupt practices.

Protection of Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers, without a doubt, do good work for the society, but they may sometimes have to face insecurities for filing complaints against an organization. However, there are whistle-blower lawyers, who protect whistleblowers and also help them get a reward for your brave act. So, if you’re willing to get some benefits by exposing some organization, physicians and other entities from your whistleblowing act, you can contact some reputed attorneys to easily deal with the entire situation.

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4 Things You Might Not Be Aware of a Health Care Lawyer

Over the past few years, fraudulent issues in the healthcare industry have become a growing issue of concern. False allegations, medical disputes, abuse, healthcare fraud, etc., lead to a potential penalty. Any false claim in relation to a Medicaid can irreparably change the life of a professional, especially one who is dependent on a license to practice. With an increase in the potential cases of healthcare crime, healthcare lawyers understand the potential penalty and come with a conviction.

Healthcare lawyers possess acute knowledge. They are equipped to counsel clientele regarding any types of administrative and regulatory disputes involving, malpractice allegation, violation of anti-trust, charges of negligence, pharmaceutical product liability lawsuits, etc. The healthcare attorneys are experienced in handling day to day issues and assist clients in complex matters.

If you are charged with healthcare fraud, then you must know 4 points, which includes:

• Payment suspension: Under Affordable Care Act, if a health care provider is found guilty, he/she will be deemed to suspend. This is done through the recommendations made by the department of Health and Human service to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”).CMS halts all payment of the physician. In such a situation, one can hire a lawyer for doctor, who strategically plans to protect the interest of the company and its staff. Experienced lawyers can cut down criminal charges.
• Grand Jury Subpoenas Issued to Suspect’s Banks: the goal of the government is to recoup money from healthcare firms who illegally obtained money through fraudulent business operations. While doing so, the government will issue federal Grand Jury subpoenas to banks and financial institutions. The healthcare lawyers help healthcare institutions but it is extremely rare that bank shares illegal information with customers.
• Medical malpractice: Medical malpractice claims are quite challenging. A medical mistake is devastating and negligence is the root cause of the mistake. By hiring medicare fraud lawyer, you can sense the validity of your claim and punish the guilty.
• Insurance claim: If you met with an accident and you have medical insurance, you can file and insurance claim with insurance service provider. An insurance claim will give you compensation for any sort of medical expenses and if you are not satisfied with the insurance claim process, you can seek the help of legal attorneys, who would appeal to the insurance company for a claim.

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Who is a Medical Licensing Board Attorney?

Most of the times, medical professionals come under conflict with the licensing board. They are either alleged for maltreatment of patients, mistreatment of vulnerable adults, negative peer review, unprofessional conduct, criminal issues, or billing issues. When a patient accuses Doctor of wrongdoing, the medical licensing board sends out a letter to the doctor outlining all the allegations. At this point of time, medical officials feel that they can deal with the issue on their own, but defending oneself against false accusations of misconduct make difficult for one to undertake alone. If you are a licensed doctor or nurse, you should reach out to the medical licensing board attorney for help.

The attorneys of Medical license board are skilled and have an in-depth knowledge of the legal proceedings. They properly investigate the situation, gather facts and put light on the instances, which are most favorable to the medical representatives. A medical licensing board attorney is one who assists medical professionals and save them from administrative actions and legal allegations. The defense lawyers protect the rights of physicians and advance a medical doctor’s interest in an investigation or prosecution. A medical licensing board has a team of Medical licensed defense attorneys that represent doctors with medical licensing matters, such as disciplinary actions, licensure application appeals, negligence claims, employment and criminal issues that impact licensure, etc. It is imperative for you to hire a Medicare fraud defense attorney the United States if you are charged with a crime.

When the licensing board finds a physician to be guilty, they may either revoke the license, suspend the license, impose a limitation on physician practices, or impose a civil penalty. By taking help of medical licensing board attorney, they can handle civil and criminal medicare fraud issues and all subsequent licensure issues of the medical officials. The firm handles a variety of cases belonging from all fields of Medical community.

When dealing with disciplinary action or a criminal charge, medical professional gets tugged in legal and administrative rules and procedures which, if not followed correctly, can end the career of the physician. Therefore, it is essential for a medical representative to speak with a lawyer about the legal issue and get it resolved sooner.

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