The health care market is massive and entails thousands of purchases that relocate numerous dollars daily. According to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Organization, an approximated $100 billion is shed to Medicare whistleblower rewards Oberheiden fraud every year in the U.S., with ill-used law enforcement agencies counting heavily on whistleblowers to bring Medicare and Medicaid scams, waste, and misuse to their interest.

Situations that opt for much less than real amount owed can still result in substantial honors for the whistleblower that brought the Medicare fraud to the federal government's attention." - Dr. Nick Oberheiden, founding partner of the Medicare whistleblower law practice Oberheiden P.C

For example, one nurse expert was convicted and punished to two decades in prison for defrauding the program of $192 million in a phantom billing scheme in which she fraudulently billed the program for, to name a few points, telemedicine visits that frequently completed more than 24 hr in a single day.

One reason that it is so vital for possible health care whistleblowers to hire a lawyer is because numerous different whistleblower laws might apply to their situation. The instance's earnings would certainly consist of the amount defrauded from Medicare, plus a civil penalty of over $13,000 per violation - which can stack up, as there is one offense for every fraudulent expense sent to Medicare.

Also a whistleblower award that is better to 15 percent of the earnings of the situation can be considerable, particularly if the situation is submitted under the False Claims Act. Nonetheless, several of these regulations, like the False Claims Act, provide for greater damages and more payment than your typical wrongful termination case in an attempt to discourage whistleblower retaliation.