• Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
The Truth at Any Cost.
Qui Tam, Compliance and Anti-Corruption News.
SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
Whistleblower Network News
  • Qui Tam
  • SEC
  • CFTC
  • FCPA
  • Whistleblower Resources
  • FAQS
Subscribe
Donate
No Result
View All Result
Whistleblower Network News
No Result
View All Result
Home False Claims-Qui Tam

Big Win for Whistleblowers at Supreme Court

Nataleigh KohnbyNataleigh Kohn
June 16, 2016
in False Claims-Qui Tam, News
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Oral Arguments in Key Supreme Court Whistleblower Case Scheduled for Tuesday
Share on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInEmail

Supreme Court Unanimously Supports Whistleblower under False Claims Act

Washington, D.C. June 16, 2016. In a unanimous ruling issued today, the United States Supreme Court upheld a whistleblower’s claim in Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar. The Court, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, affirmed the “implied certification theory” of liability under the False Claims Act (FCA). This theory permits contractors to be liable for fraud when they fail to disclose material non-compliance with regulatory requirements. 

Following the death of 17-year-old Yarushka Rivera resulting from a reaction to a medication, she had been prescribed by Arbour Counseling Services, a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Rivera’s family learned that the “doctors” who had treated Rivera were in fact unlicensed.

Support Whistleblower Network News

The court unanimously rejected arguments raised by the healthcare industry, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and numerous business groups, that the False Claims Act only prohibited fraud that was “expressly designated” as a “condition of payment.” In laymen’s terms, the healthcare industry and its corporate allies had argued that the government should pay bills submitted by unlicensed and unqualified “doctors,” even though their misconduct resulted in the death of a child.

Stephen M. Kohn, qui tam attorney and Executive Director of the National Whistleblower Center, issued the following statement regarding the decision:

“The Supreme court got it right. The legal position taken by the Chamber of Commerce and the healthcare industry, in this case, was dumbfounding. Had the court agreed with the Chamber and its allies–that you can bill the taxpayers for the services of a so-called ‘doctor’ who was in fact unlicensed, and whose degree came from an unaccredited internet college, then the floodgates would be opened for fraud in government contracting.”

Kohn further elaborated on the broader implications of this by stating, “The arguments raised by the healthcare industry were particularly troubling because they would have permitted low-income persons who obtain medical services through Medicaid to obtain inferior and even life-threatening treatment.” Rivera was a recipient of Massachusetts’ Medicaid program.

The False Claims Act is the “most effective” whistleblower law in the United States. Acting Associate Attorney General Bill Baer, described the False Claims Act, and its whistleblower rewards provision (known as “qui tam”) as follows: “The False Claims Act and its qui tam provisions remain the government’s most effective civil tool in protecting vital government programs from fraud schemes, wherever they occur.” Since 2009 the United States taxpayers have recovered over $29.5 billion from fraudsters under the FCA.

Important links:

U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision: Universal Health Services v. U.S. ex rel. Escobar

NWC’s amicus brief

Background information on U.S. ex rel. Escobar

Tags: False Claims/Qui TamGovernment Contract FraudSupreme CourtWhistleblower Protection
Previous Post

Expert Report Highly Critical of UK Whistleblower Protection Laws, Calls for Urgently Needed Reforms

Next Post

National Whistleblower Center and World Bank Meet to Discuss Plans to Protect Wildlife Whistleblowers

Nataleigh Kohn

Nataleigh Kohn

Next Post
National Whistleblower Center and World Bank Meet to Discuss Plans to Protect Wildlife Whistleblowers

National Whistleblower Center and World Bank Meet to Discuss Plans to Protect Wildlife Whistleblowers

Please login to join discussion

Receive Daily Alerts

Subscribe to receive daily breaking news and legislative developments sent to your inbox.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Most Popular

Whistleblower Jóhannes Stefánsson Plans to Testify at Fishrot Trial in Namibia

WNN Exclusive Interview with Social Security Whistleblowers Sarah Carver and Jennifer Griffith — Part 1

Tell President Biden to “Finish the Job” for Whistleblowers

Change the Culture, Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent

Whistleblower Raised Concerns of Rodents, Spiders in Kitchen of Childcare Facility, Then Fired; OSHA Rules They Were Retaliated Against

U.S. and UK Advocates Come Together for Whistleblowing Awareness Week

Whistleblower Poll

Whistleblower Poll
Whistleblower Poll

Exclusive Marist Poll: Overwhelming Public Support Among Likely Voters For Increased Whistleblower Protections

byGeoff Schweller
October 6, 2020

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

STAY INFORMED.
Subscribe to receive breaking whistleblower updates.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

About Us

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Careers

Subscribe

  • Daily Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • YouTube Channel

Contribute

  • Letter to the Editor
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Reprint Guidelines

Your Experience

  • Accessibility Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Help

  • The Whistleblowers Handbook
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Advertise
Whistleblower Network News

Whistleblower Network News is an independent online newspaper providing our readers with up-to-date information on whistleblowing. Our goal is to be the best source of information on important qui tam, anti-corruption, compliance, and whistleblower law developments. 

Submit an Article

Copyright © 2021, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

This Newspaper/Web Site is made available by the publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this website, you understand that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Newspaper/Web Site publisher. The Newspaper/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

SIGN THE PETITION FOR NATIONAL WHISTLEBLOWER DAY IN 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Exclusives
  • Government
    • False Claims-Qui Tam
    • Federal Employees
    • Intelligence
  • Corporate
    • CFTC & Commodities
    • Dodd-Frank
    • IRS & Tax
    • SEC & Securities
  • Features
  • Legislation
  • International
    • Foreign Corruption
  • Rewards
  • Whistleblower of the Week
  • Environment & Climate
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Employment
    • Sarbanes-Oxley Whistleblowers
    • Retaliation
    • OSHA
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • National Whistleblower Day
  • Whistleblower Poll
  • Whistleblower Resources
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Resources for Locating An Attorney
    • The New Whistleblowers Handbook
  • National Whistleblower Day ’23

Copyright © 2020, Whistleblower Network News. All Rights Reserved.

Become a Whistleblower Network News Subscriber

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Subscribe to WNN

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Subscribe to WNN

Add New Playlist

Go to mobile version