Hire an Experienced Medicare Fraud Attorney to Avoid the Harsh Penalties of Conviction

Getting convicted of Medicare fraud can have serious repercussions for your career and life. Here’s a list of possible Medicare fraud conviction consequences and an explanation of how an experienced Medicare fraud attorney can help you in your case.

Potential Consequences of Conviction for Medicare Fraud

Medicare care fraud can be of different types such as submitting false claims for payment, submitting false claims for patient with whom the provider has no professional relationship, billing for services not provided, upcoding, performing unnecessary clinical tests or treatments, providing false or misleading information relating to a patient’s discharge and much more. Here are some of the penalties you could end up facing if you get convicted of Medicare fraud:

• Civil monetary penalties of up to $250,000.
• Jail time of up to 20 years
• Loss of licensure
• Loss of DEA registration
• Prohibition from Medicare and Medicaid
• Non-payment of outstanding dues
• Losing of staff privileges
• Losing employment opportunities

Experienced Attorneys Have Access to Right Resources

An experienced Medicare fraud attorney can help you navigate highly specific and complex healthcare fraud charges. Experienced attorneys have access to niche resources such as forensic accountants, investigators and medical experts and investigators to review the government’s allegations and put up a strong challenge.

Experienced Attorneys Use Defense Strategies

In Medicare fraud cases, an experienced attorney will try various strategies to obtain best outcome for clients. One strategy may be to use effective pre-trial motions to bury or narrow the government’s case before trial. Another strategy may be to make the accused provider a valuable witness rather than a defendant to shift the focus of a criminal investigation. Another strategy may be to assert that the provider did not have the intent to commit fraud – in many Medicare fraud cases, the prosecution has to prove that the defendant intentionally submitted a false claim. 

If you or someone you know is facing a charge of Medicare fraud, feel free to avail a no-obligation consultation with an experienced Medicare fraud defense attorney to discuss the case in complete confidence.

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Five Benefits of Hiring an Experienced Medical Staff Attorney

Medico-legal matters tend to be complex and complicated. Although there are many healthcare lawyers practicing today, an experienced medical staff attorney can provide more value than others. Here are some benefits of partnering an experienced healthcare attorney.

How Can Medical Staff Benefit?

Experienced lawyers for doctors and other medical staff often work on different types of medico-legal matters. Their area of practice may include administrative and agency law, health and healthcare law, compliance, DEA registration, professional licensing privileges, criminal and civil case consultation and healthcare fraud among others. Some of the benefits of partnering an experienced healthcare attorney include:

• Experienced medical staff attorneys have years of practice behind him. Along with having thorough knowledge of various rules and regulations, they have working knowledge of how courts operate and how regulations are likely to be addressed in court settings.
• Moreover, experienced lawyers know the importance of thorough research and make an effort to investigate and address all aspects of a case. With their extensive knowledge, medical staff attorneys help clients explore all relevant options.
• Many medico-legal cases are settled out of court through negotiation. An experienced lawyer is more likely to have the multi-faceted negotiation skills to garner best possible outcomes for clients.
• Behind every successful healthcare attorney is a network of connections the attorney leverages to support clients and their legal efforts – for example, expert witnesses or investigators can help healthcare lawyers put up a good case for healthcare fraud that doctors are sometimes involved in.
• One of the biggest benefits of hiring an experienced healthcare attorney for medical staff is that the attorney is more likely to prepare a case with facts and figures and also move the legal process along efficiently. 

Final Words

Partnering an experienced healthcare attorney for medical staff takes the burden of your shoulders and allows you to focus on providing quality healthcare services while providing you with an extra layer of protection. For more information, avail a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced healthcare attorney!

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Whistleblower Lawyer – Helping People Fight Fraud Activities

Whistleblower lawsuits involve complex procedures. The legal proceedings in such cases have specific filing and pleading demand. Therefore, to present a strong case and seek support from the government to bring fraud activities to light, one needs to consult a whistleblower lawyer.

The concerned professional can preserve whistleblower’s anonymity and safeguard him against any type of retaliation. Furthermore, he can help you in the following ways:

Evaluate claim

Firstly, your whistleblower lawyer will evaluate the shreds of evidence in support of allegations. Further, to make your case stronger, the professional may also recommend you obtain additional documents or report the incident internally before filing a claim.

Submit information or file a lawsuit

Depending upon the case type, a whistleblower lawyer may file a lawsuit in the court. He will aptly convey the court about how a company is defrauding the government. Moreover, in case of tax fraud or security fraud, your lawyer may help you submit information precisely as per the whistleblower program.

Convenience government to support

If the government agrees to intervene then your case may get a stronger upholding. Therefore, to persuade the government to extend support and join lawsuit, a whistleblower lawyer may help you compose a stronger set of evidence.

Stay by your side

After claim submission, the government schedules a meet with the whistleblower to verify the information. In such events, your whistleblower lawyer accompanies and helps you to prepare for all expected questions that may arise during the process.

Protects your identity to avoid retaliation

To prevent whistleblower’s identity from being disclosed, a lawyer undertakes all possible legal measures. He may protect you from being demoted, discharged, threatened, harassed, or discriminated by any means. If as a whistleblower, you face retaliation then your lawyer can help you file a lawsuit against an organization demanding compensation for losses occurred.

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Common Instances Where a Medicare Fraud Attorney Can Help

Medicare frauds are the perplex types of cases, where an experienced Medicare fraud attorney can be of much help. These cases are constantly evolving with changes in Medicare governing laws and regulations. Hence, it becomes highly technical for a whistleblower to prove any Medicare fraud due to strict rules of secrecy. A Medicare fraud attorney can understand the complexity of these terms and comprehend the same in an easier way to the whistleblower.

Understanding the complexities of Medicare fraud cases is, at times, quite expensive. A trustworthy and genuine medicare fraud attorney can help you to build a successful healthcare fraud case while minimizing your expenses. You need to disclose the entire case in front of your attorney so that the case can get a strong foundation.

Most common medicare fraud examples

Medicare is a federal health care program, which intends to provide healthcare services, life-saving drugs, and much more. Any fraud in these fields can bring the survivor to a medicare fraud attorney for taking the case ahead. Here are a few common examples of medicare frauds the attorneys are handling these days:

1. Lack of medical requirements: If there is billing for product, service, or procedure, which are not medically necessary.
2. Phantom billing: This fraud belongs to the reimbursement claim made by a company for an employee who doesn’t exist.
3. Double billing: It is the fraud where a customer is charged twice for the same product or service.
4. Pharmaceutical fraud: These frauds include various activities that result in false claims.
5. Upcoding and unbundling frauds: These involve improper applications of codes for any medical procedure or diagnosis.

Approach your attorney today

If you have discovered or tackled any medicare fraud, you should immediately speak with a medicare fraud attorney to investigate and prosecute the lawsuit. The attorney helps you to unveil intricate layers of medicare case by performing the in-depth background evaluation. For more insight into Medicare fraud or to seek the assistance of an experienced professional, you can seek help from Haber’s Law. The renowned legal firm extends cordial legal support to its clients affected by Medicare fraud.

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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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Important Tips to Select the Right Healthcare Fraud Lawyer

The term fraud basically means the usage of misrepresentation or deceit in order to gain valuable items, money or goods from others. The healthcare fraud is not a different concept. Its victims may involve either healthcare practitioners or patients. However, the culprit needs to pay serious penalties to the victims if found guilty in the case. Thus, to deal away with the situation effectively and wisely, a healthcare fraud lawyer becomes the need of the hour.

Diversity of healthcare frauds

The United States alone accounts for an overall healthcare fraud of over $80 billion within a year as per the investigation of FBI. At times, you can easily differentiate between right and wrong while some cases may have blurred lines between illegal and legal. Here are some of the most prominent healthcare frauds that people usually experience in the US –

• False billing: At times, the healthcare providers provide the bills for such services that are costly rather than those provided. This is in no circumstance a legally acceptable procedure that calls for strict actions against the practitioners.
• Double billing: This is yet another most common phenomenon that patients face with the healthcare providers. They unnecessary charge you twice for any single service, treatment or product.
• Kickbacks:The situation of kickback arises when the practitioners intentionally demand for payments, services or products to solicit any healthcare program for the patients.
• Phantom billing: This type of fraud involves charging for such tests that practitioners not even perform. 

Finding the right defense lawyer

Whether you are a practitioner or a client, if, at any instance, you find yourself stuck in a situation of healthcare fraud; you immediately need to contact a reputed healthcare fraud lawyer for better assistance. Although, various criminal defense lawyers are available at your service, consulting a specialized attorney can give you a distinctive approach. Here are few tips that you can consider while hiring the right lawyer for your case –

• Make a list of top skilled healthcare fraud lawyers of your city.
• Examine their past experience and number of cases dealt by them.
• Check if they are compliant with the official governing bodies or not.

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Acquire an Attorney, Having Excellent Knowledge for Whistleblower Protection Acts

When you eyewitness fraud nearby you, it becomes essential to hire a Whistle blower lawyer to immediately file such a case. These qualified lawyers or attorneys keep your identity confidential as a surreptitious and take appropriate steps to catch the third person who is responsible for the fraud. To help you out in a safe and secure manner you can consult leading law firms. Deciding a law firm to stand for you in the whistleblower proceedings is the major decision that affects the result of the case. These firms’ have experts who work professionally while maintaining clients privacy and security.

These companies have their own official websites so that you can browse and know detailed information about assorted law firms. Their informative sites have complete detail that you want to gather. If you still have some query, contact them and they will consult you better solution in a very trouble-free manner. You must anticipate positive results from the attorney. Here are some important tips that you must follow while hiring a whistle-blower attorney.

• Hire a lawyer who has years of experience in Qui Tam law or commonly known as False Claims Act.
• A legal representative having good experience in the particular field is able to solve the case efficiently. The expert lawyer knows better what type of proceedings can help your case and they put all his concentration to resolve it.
• A transparent relationship between you and your lawyer is must. Maintain a good connection to discuss your issues to get courteous replies. Some experts can provide free conference to discuss your case additionally for faster results.
• They must have proper regulations to keep your details confidential. First gather complete knowledge for the firm, if you feel pleased and comfortable only then discuss your matter.

Consider these factors before employing a firm of individual for your case. A Whistleblower lawyer has appropriate knowledge and understanding to Qui Tam law and has experience of solving different matters. Some of the companies are providing their services at very sensible cost for better convenience of their clients.

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How healthcare Defence Lawyers Investigate Medicare Fraud Cases?

In any situation when a customer or a client is under investigation due to any consequences of fraud billing, billing of unnecessary medical services, etc. the person has no time to waste by introducing his Medicare fraud attorney to the procedure involving the necessities of medical involving coding, billing, etc.

The healthcare-related fraud exposure requires an investigation of the providers and owners under same rules and regulations. The person who falls in for a contract, whether directly or indirectly or takes payment for unfair services also goes under the process of investigations. Mainly the fraud cases arise from the following areas:

• Hospitals

• Entities owned by Physicians

• Medical Laboratories

• Companies and Owners of Pharmacy

• Companies of Medical Devices,

The customers expect from the Medicare fraud defense lawyer to incorporate a speedy working on how to proceed further by incorporating defending strategies. Mainly they follow the following key features for defending a Medicare fraud case:

• Knowledge- The healthcare fraud attorney has quite an efficient and appropriate knowledge of CMS Protocols, blunders of billing and coding, its violations, etc. which increases the chances of the dismissal of case.

• Experience- A healthcare fraud lawyer, well equipped with relevant experience, can negotiate between acts with thin line discrimination in front of the law. Prominent of these examples include liabilities and errors by humans. These lawyers persuade the government in a way, which makes the government to focus on the provided details.

• Civil Approach- A Medicare fraud attorney takes a civil approach avoiding the criminal way. This approach includes influencing the government that the existing errors were not a pre-planned intention, but the results of an accidental human error.

When making a choice regarding any Medicare fraud attorney, the record of accomplishment of the concerned person regarding solved cases and experience in similar situations needs more focus. An experienced can only come forward for helping a newbie.

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Some of the Types of Health Care Frauds - Haberslaw Can Help You With

Healthcare fraud may be prosecuted in Federal or State Court, depending upon the situations of each case, the proof mounted against the suspect and the cost associated with the healthcare fraud wrongdoing or faults.

Types of Health Care Fraud

There are many ways in which healthcare institutions and medical professionals may be charged with health care frauds. Some specific examples of health care fraud are:

• Billing or prescribing unnecessary procedures or services
• Making bribes or self-referrals
• Trying to bill for services not rendered
• Proposing or billing for medical equipment which is not provided
• Prescribing or billing avoidable medical equipment
• Creating fake cost reports
• Submitting claims for health care services rendered to non-existing patients

Healthcare fraud lawyer represents the legal rights and goals of those facing criminal healthcare fraud charges, or other criminal defense issues.  To obtain justice, contact a skilled healthcare attorney for a free and confidential consultation. Now here comes a million dollar question: how to select the best healthcare lawyer? Fortunately, there are many tips available to help you narrow the search and make a right choice.

Find A Healthcare Attorney That Best Suits Your Needs: First, there are a lot of attorneys out there, but how to find the right healthcare attorney that best suits your needs? Second, you need to find a lawyer who knows how to handle your case best. Many attorneys specialize in one type of law. A specialist in personal injury law won’t be your ideal option if you need a healthcare lawyer. Third, you need to search an attorney that best suits your pocket.

Ask yourself these important questions — and make sure you answer them truly. It is most important to get an experienced healthcare lawyer and not be too concerned with the best price. What you save on price, you will lose in regret if your attorney is not up to the challenge.  Kenneth Joel Haber has experience that other attorneys just dream about. He is a Fmr. Assistant US Attorney and also a Fmr. Senior Attorney of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. You are not going to easily find anyone with that experience, even if some else has those experiences and qualification. The one most positive experience will be the one most competent to handle your situation.

Here are some questions to consider before agreeing to hire any healthcare or Medicare lawyer.

• Is the attorney a regular, generalized defense attorney with an occasional healthcare matter or does he have focused experience in healthcare law? Does he have in-depth experience from decades of involvement?
• Does he know the regulatory structure that your program is operating in?

You must find the lawyer who is the most competent with understanding of your needs.
Don't Settle for Less than the Best. Contact an experienced healthcare fraud attorney at the law offices of Kenneth Joel Haber, Fmr. Assistant U.S. Attorney; Fmr. Senior Attorney OIG

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What You Need To About A Compliance Attorney Before Hiring One?

A lawyer or attorney is a professional that every business has a need for, eventually. Every business has an eventual need for either a litigation or transactional attorney or both. However, according to a new trend, businesses are now hiring or retaining compliance attorneys. A compliance attorney does not necessarily argue in a courtroom or work out negotiation deals. However, a compliance attorney, lawyer brings legal understanding and requirements into business management, human resources and risk management to prevent adverse downstream legal complications and insure that your business deals are compliant with the requirements of the law.

If you are looking to hire or retain a compliance attorney, you need to know the following:

• A primary purpose of a healthcare compliance attorney is to ensure that company’s ethics and compliance program are in accordance with the government healthcare policies, such as those established by OIG or CMS requirements or otherwise created by DOJ issues and policies.

• To develop and apply internal controls that will help businesses to protect against legal risk, which involve compliance policies and procedures.A compliance attorney also implements and manages training as to compliance issues and processes.

• The most important responsibility of a compliance attorney is to assist senior management and human resource department to analyze and avoid compliance violations, and in case of compliance violations, respond to them.

• He/she can provided legal support in investigations and audits regarding compliance.

• His/her responsibilities also include drafting in-house documents for advising employees about the legal and regulatory issues. These issues can range from vendors, projects, to sales and marketing.

• Other than a degree in law, a compliance attorney needs to understand the subject matter which is involved in the compliance issues. A knowledge of the requirements of a combination of what appears to be mutually independent realms helps corporations and enterprises to conduct business in compliance, with governmental and contractual obligations.

• A compliance attorney can significantly reduce an organization’s cost of hiring litigation and transactional attorneys, since his/her work is to safeguard and anticipate and avoid the potential legal implications that arise from non-compliance.

• You can hire or retain a compliance attorney just out of Law College; however, you get what you pay for. The more experience that the compliance attorney has, then the more protection that you are buying.

Many big businesses are hiring or retaining compliance attorneys to safeguard them against compliance violation. However, it is a relatively new field. It is strongly suggested that you retain experienced counsel.

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How to Choose the Right Attorney for Medicare Fraud Defense

In the present day America, billions of dollars of taxpayer’s money is engulfed by the health care frauds.This significant loss has stimulated government to discover and eradicate the health care frauds; hundreds of millions of dollars is devoted to this purpose. However, there is a downside, too, since there are many innocent healthcare professionals who are subjected to enquiry repeatedly. At this time, Medicare fraud defense attorney comes to the rescue, who is trained to defend them optimally.

However, to hire an expert Medicare fraud attorney is not task, as the attorney will have to negotiate with the government’s representative, who will be aggressive in their approach. If you want to hire a lawyer, make sure you go the following steps, which will help you to understand what you need to look for in an attorney.

(1) A comprehensive knowledge of Medicare law

Every attorney has a set of skill. However, a lawyer with generic skill set and limited knowledge of healthcare law does not fit the bill for being an effective health care lawyer.Many healthcare fraud cases results from the honest mistakes, which leads to criminal liability. There is a fine line between those, and it is the decisive factor. It is important to learn about the past negotiating experience with FBI and other government’s prosecutors.

(2) Enough experience with government related investigations

There is a small pool of legal professionals, either governments or otherwise, who operate within in this specialization, repeatedly. Therefore, attorneys from this field keep on running into the same team, and this experience is crucial for a Medicare fraud attorney. The experience helps to anticipate the next step, which may result into better strategy, understanding the moves of the government officials.

(3) Track record

It is the common element that you have to inquire about, irrespective of the type of case. However, you have to focus on the experience on the niche, since even an impeccable track record in other types of cases, will not proved to be a great determinant of attorney’s ability.

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Types of False Claims One Can Make and How Lawyers Help

,also known as Lincoln Law, holds person or companies liable to irregularities or frauds against the government. Under this law, private citizens can file a lawsuit against individuals and businesses on the behalf of the federal government.

The law came into existence during the Civil War. Now days, under this law, whistleblower lawsuits are filed and whistleblowers, if allegations is proved true, can receive compensation.
The most common types of False Claims that one can make are: 

• False Certification Claims

These claims occur when a person or entity knowingly submits forged and fraudulent claim to get payment from the government. Under this claim, the most common example is of a doctor where he or she submits an inflated bill or fake bill to the government for services provided under Medicare.

• Mischarge and Overcharge Claims

These claims occur when a person or entity knowingly submits forged and fraudulent claim to get payment from the government. Under this claim, the most common example is of a doctor where he or she submits aninflated bill or fake bill to the government for services provided under Medicare.

• Conspiracy Claims

It occurs when individual or companies work in tandem to violate the False Claims Act. The conspiracy claim usually occurs when a general contractor knows that subcontractors, it has employed, are violating terms set under federal contract. In such cases, both types of contractors are liable for conspiracy.

• Reverse False Claims

In such claims, individuals or businesses knowingly conceals or withhold information from the government about the overpayment it had been receiving. A typical reverse false claim involve a hospital that has been obtaining Medicare payments, which sometimes can result into overpayment, and to avoid refund to the government, it presents a forged cost report.

The role of lawyers

The False Claims Act has many complex rules, which are incomprehensible to untrained minds. It is necessary that you hire a false claims act attorney before filing a complaint.

Moreover, a disclosure statement is required to be submitted to the Justice Department, confidentially. An improperly drafted disclosure statement can lead to dismissal of the complaint.

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Get Legal Help in Matters of Healthcare Fraud from a Healthcare Attorney

Medical practice is one of the noblest occupations. People always think high of the doctor who saves their life. However, some doctors consider it acceptable to involve in fraudulent practices, especially the ones who receive aid from the government to provide medical services to the citizens. They use to opt for the false claims. 

Billing for a non-existing patient, billing for non-performed treatment, billing for the unnecessary medical devices and multiple billings for the same treatment are common to see. 

Trouble may arise anytime

Government has taken strict measures to stop these false practices. However, sometimes doctors and healthcare providers who have not done any fraudulent act fall under the suspicious when they make a mistake. If the Medicaid or Medicare finds any fault in the records, you as a doctor will have to face a lot of trouble even when that fault was not intentional.

Stay safe legally

Due to these reasons, the health care lawyers are present to assist you. You can choose a firm, which has a history of defending the doctors accused for healthcare fraud. The attorney for the healthcare practices can save you from the false claim act. You cannot earn back the reputation once lost. It is good to only hire a firm which has experienced healthcare lawyers, attorneys who are eligible to handle the false claim act.

Get help from the reputed firms

There are firms out there which have years of experience in the healthcare cases. You can find a firm, which has assisted the physicians and healthcare entities for all types of healthcare fraud cases. Not every firm is eligible enough to handle the complications of the health care cases. You should only retain the lawyers who are knowledge about the field and have the credentials to prove it. Kenneth Haber at www.haberslaw.com is both a former Senior Attorney of the Office of Inspector General- HHS and a former Assistant US Attorney. 

You cannot go on and risk everything to a novice or to an attorney who does not have any knowledge about the Medicare claims and healthcare billing and coding. So choose the firm smartly.

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Steps to Find a Good False Claims Lawyer

Are you misprescribed or over prescribed by a doctor? Have you observed incompetent and/or negligent practice of medicine by a healthcare professional? Did you notice the use of illegal narcotics/substances by a physician, faking or making wrong entries in any patient chart by a doctor? Didn’t the chemist give you an invoice for your purchase?

If your answer to any of the above-mentioned questions is ‘yes’, it's important to have the right medical compliance attorney on your side. A healthcare compliance lawyer will help you sue and receive compensation from the responsible doctor or medical center.

Below are a few steps to find a good false claims attorney–

1. Create a list of local false claims attorneys –When creating your list; include the lawyers’ name, phone number, email address, and website address. You can find nearby attorneys by:

• Scanning through the internet.
• Visiting your local or state bar association’s website.

2. Get referrals from friends, family members, or close relatives for reputable medical fraud attorneys.
3. Review each compliance attorney’s website. You can narrow your list further by meticulously reviewing the website of each lawyer on your list. Some things that must look for include:

• Lawyers’ background information
• Lawyers’ expertise and experience
• Lawyers’ educational background and work history

4. Prepare to ask about the lawyer’s expertise and experience. Some important questions you should ask include:

What is your strategy for my case?

5. Think about whether or not you are comfortable with the lawyer. It is important to have a good relationship with your lawyer so that you can lay all your cards on the table. If you're not comfortable, or you're bothered your lawyer is less involved in representing your interests and more interested in earning a ton of money, don't work with that attorney.

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How to spot and stop healthcare fraud?

Trillions of dollars are released for various health and medicare schemes every year. These schemes primarily include health insurance and various plans under which government aids the needy through discounted/free healthcare facilities. The most common instance of healthcare fraud is falsified insurance claim. Another type of healthcare fraud is practiced by service providers, as hospitals, doctors, physicians, chemists, and pharma and insurance companies. They provide unjust treatment/services to patients and medicare beneficiaries.

How to Spot These Frauds?

• Before enrolling for a health insurance scheme, read through all the T&C, and speak to the agent/representative of the company to understand the scheme.
• Be aware of policies and regulations set by state authorities and federal government. 
• Check if the policy that you are registering for is government approved. (However, this could be a tricky task. So, you can consider checking the reviews of the insurance program on the internet.)
• Stay attentive when seeing your doctor/hospital.
• Make sure you are getting the right treatments/tests.
• Take invoice for all your treatments/tests/medications.

Keeping these points in your consideration will help you spot the irregularities in the healthcare sector.

How to Stop Healthcare Fraud?

• Once you notice some irregularity, you can consult to a CMS lawyer.
• Discuss your concern with the attorney, and understand if your case is really a case of healthcare fraud.
• Register your complaint and file the case with the help of your False Claims Act attorney.
• False Claims Act is a litigation tool, presented by the federal government that enables you to sue the fraudster on behalf of the government. 

If your charges are proved, you will receive the compensation (certain percentage of recovered money) from the government. Your False Claims Act lawyer will help throughout the proceedings until the responsible are held and fined. These lawyers help you stop of the instances of fraud in the healthcare sector.

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Hire a Lawyer to Save Your Medical & Healthcare Career

Oftentimes, doctors and healthcare professionals face false accusations for having a role in some fraudulent or criminal offence. If the charges are proved to be true, their practice license can be snatched away from them, and because of which they might not be able to work as a medical practitioner throughout the country.

If you are being questioned because of false allegations made by some of your seniors, colleagues, patients, or an individual, under the Whistleblower Act, you MUST step forward and speak to a medicare fraud defense lawyer. This attorney, having a shipshape knowledge of the law, will help you skip out the charges and save your practice.

Types and severity of charges

Misbehaving with patients and following unethical means in your practice are two of the most frequent blames that you - as a healthcare professional, doctor, dentist, physician and hospital staff - are most likely to face. Some of the other charges that may be held responsible for are: involvement in corruption; providing wrong/unnecessary treatment to your patients; billing the items or charging for the services or treatments that were actually not given to the patients; etc.

These and other serious offenses, which, if proved, can create a sea-like hindrance in your medical profession. Your service license will be taken back and your reputation and earnings will be adversely affected. You will not be allowed to serve or work as a healthcare and medical professional anywhere in the United States. Additionally, you may even be slapped with hefty fines as a penalty for defrauding the government and its interests.

Lawyers of Doctors

Healthcare fraud defense lawyers are the best lawyers for doctors, who, using their exceptional knowledge and experience in the law professional, aid doctors to save their practice as well as their reputation and way of living.

For safe practices, you should always keep medical transcriptions of your patients. It helps you respond resolutely to the charges put in opposition to you. Further, before answering the investigators, it is recommendable to speak to your lawyers. It will save from making wrong statements, which can be used against you by the cops and investigators.

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Some of the very commonly seen instances of medicare fraud

The instances of healthcare fraud cause a massive financial loss to the federal government. At an estimate, calculated by a economics survey organization, the medicare scams slapped a hammering of around $272 billion in the financial year 2011-2012. The practitioners, the patients, the institutions – everyone has been involved in harming the interests and gains of the government.

Shared here are some of the most commonly seen cases of healthcare and medicare fraud. You need to act attentively on such activities, and be ready to bring these into the view of the authorities and the government –

Patients make healthcare claims, which they do not really deserve. It is the most common activity in which patients are involved, and the officials of insurance companies, and sometimes, physicians help them in this.

Medicaid Supplier charge for the pieces of equipment that they didn’t actually supply to a government hospital or healthcare facility. Another instance of embezzlement prevalent in the healthcare and medicare sector! The equipment suppliers deliver products, like wheelchairs, needles, syringes, surgical gloves, etc., which they never supplied to anyone anywhere. They produce false bills, and obtain money from the government and state medical board.

Physicians prescribe counterfeited drugs to their patients. A study, in which patients were key respondents, says, in the year 2013, doctors in the U.S. prescribed more than 5 million painkillers to their patients.

By reporting the fraudulent activities in the healthcare sector, taking help from a whistleblower compliance attorney, you can help the government in combating the corruption. The whistleblower act enables the common man to sue the fraudsters on behalf of the government. If some funds are recovered, you may receive a certain (percentage of recovered money as) reward for this noble deed.

However, if you are doctor, physician, chemist, or any other healthcare professional, and are being wrongly accused for having some connection in a healthcare fraud case, you can consider taking consultation from a healthcare fraud defense lawyer.  They will give you the right set of advices, and help you sail through the charges made against you. Though, ensuring the credibility and reputation of the attorney would be a shrewd step, before going for a meeting with them.

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