New York Qui Tam Law Blog
What is a pharmaceutical kickback?
When a medical doctor or clinician is given a monetary incentive to prescribe a medicine, product or device to patients, this is known as a pharmaceutical kickback. How common are pharmaceutical kickbacks? A 2015 study by the JAMA found that almost half- 48% of all...
Classifying improper payments: Mistake, abuse or fraud?
Although it’s not possible to determine the exact cost of Medicare abuse, the exploitation of Federal healthcare is a serious issue in the United States. Together, Medicare fraud and abuse cost taxpayers billions of dollars and limit the effectiveness of the programs...
Is your company committing Medicaid fraud?
As a person and a professional, you likely feel certain obligations when you suspect or confirm wrongdoing. If you are in the healthcare industry, you may find yourself in a position to either speak or stay silent when an individual or company is taking advantage of...
Why are compliance-related whistleblowers so rare?
One might assume that compliance workers are among the most common type of whistleblowers, due to the nature of their work. In fact, the SEC just awarded its third award to a compliance-related whistleblower in the history of the program in March of 2020. Why so few...
Four trends influence employees to blow the whistle publicly
As we discussed in a recent blog post, the number of whistleblowing cases has increased significantly in the last few years. There is no doubt that the progress and expansion of whistleblower laws and protections have played a role in this increase. However, according...
New York’s False Claims Act is one of the best for reports of tax fraud
As we have discussed many times before in past blog posts, whistleblowers play an essential role in our society. They help protect the general public and ensure legal fairness. They often do this by reporting ethical and financial wrongdoing they witness. And, unlike...
Should you file an internal report before blowing the whistle?
If you witness suspicious or unlawful activity at your place of employment, you must decide how to respond. For most, an internal report is as far as the proceedings will ever go. But, depending on the severity of the offense and your company’s response, you may...
Are you prepared to be a whistleblower?
The stature of a whistleblower is often in the eyes of the beholder. One person's traitor is another person's hero. Those who choose to go public with their information will also face a lot of scrutiny, which not only can be invasive for them but also those around...
What other whistleblower activities are protected against retaliation?
In a recent blog post, we covered a few of the most critical aspects of New York’s whistleblower laws. And one of the most critical things to remember about these laws is that they exist primarily to protect whistleblowers against retaliation when they engage in a...
Can independent contractors blow the whistle?
In today’s “gig economy,” many New Yorkers work as independent contractors. The U.S. Department of Labor reported last year that nearly 1 in 10 workers were independent contractors, and that number only seems to be increasing. However, contract workers often do not...
