A whistleblowing employee in another state will receive millions of dollars after her former employer was found to have retaliated against her. The situation revolves around a home health business that operates in more than 30 states in America. This type of whistleblower case may be of interest to employees in Wisconsin, as it involves alleged Medicare fraud, a problem which exists in all 50 states.
The former employee in this case, a nurse, claimed that the healthy company, called Amedisys, incorrectly submitted Medicare bills for patients who were not eligible. The company also allegedly billed for ineligible services. The situation reportedly took place from 2008 to 2010.
The nurse said she was instructed to bill for care that she did not actually provide or that was unnecessary. The company essentially was attempting to make the patients appear more ill than they actually were. She questioned the motive and ended up being terminated as a result, she said. The woman then filed a whistleblower suit against the company, and several others also filed suits against the company throughout the United States, all of which were consolidated at the federal level.
The health company, called Amedisys, will end up paying more than $150 million in the settlement. The company, however, has not admitted to doing anything wrong. A total of $26 million of that money will go to the whistleblowers, and the female nurse in the case will get most of that — $15 million. People, like the nurse, who are victimized as a result of being a whistleblower in Wisconsin are protected under the law and may receive a financial award in light of the situation.
Source: insidecounsel.com, “Whistleblower lawsuit exposes health company for Medicare fraud”, Alexis Harrisonapril, April 28, 2014
