May 22, 2014 — The nation’s Medicare program exists to help people who need it. Medicare fraud by unethical pharmacies and other health care providers only drives up health care costs for everyone. The government depends on whistleblowers to come forward about Medicare fraud by filing a False Claims Act lawsuit. The Act’s qui tam language gives insiders a way to do the right thing and be compensated for taking the risk. Informants who file suit for the taxpayers’ benefit may receive a sizable share of any proceeds from the suit.
Baton Rouge Pharmacy Double-Billed Medicare for Unused Prescription Medications
A Louisiana pharmacy owner has pleaded guilty to charges involving Medicare fraud, the U.S. Justice Department has announced.
Between 2007 and 2013, Mona Patrice Carter was the owner of Community Pharmacy 1, a pharmacy located in Baton Rouge. During those years, Carter paid the employees of mental health facilities and nursing homes that were pharmacy clients to return prescription drugs that had not been used to the pharmacy. Carter then instructed her own employees to re-package and re-sell the pharmaceuticals as though they were new. The medication recycling operation allowed Community Pharmacy to bill Medicare twice for the same drugs, resulting in $2,245,515 in false claims to the federally funded healthcare program.
Health Care Insiders Lead the Fight Against Medicare Fraud
Medicare scams like this one in Louisiana are often brought to light by health care insiders, such as pharmacy employees. But most whistleblowers have no idea whom to contact or how to file their own qui tam lawsuit. With experienced lawyers in California, Texas and the Washington D.C. area, Waters & Kraus guides tipsters through the process, making sure they are taken care of. Contact us by email or phone our False Claims Act attorneys at 855.784.0268 to learn more about leading the fight against health care fraudsters.
