As of July 1 of this year, provoked by the Endoscopy Center catastrophe here in Las Vegas, Nevada lawmakers decided to bolster current laws prohibiting retaliation against nurses and other employees of medical facilities who reveal the commission of unsafe policies or procedures. Now, the jobs of whistle-blowing employees cannot end, detrimentally change, or inconveniently move; and their ability to receive promotions cannot be adversely affected by their actions in reporting dangerous or illegal activities. See, NRS 449.205. Further, if retaliation DOES occur, a whistle-blower can pursue compensatory damages, reimbursement of wages, costs, attorney’s fees, and punitive damages. See, NRS 449.207.
For some patients, this change has come too late. For others, maybe it will do some good. Time will tell if care providers actually break the typical code of silence and respond to these new protections with a greater willingness to report unsafe practices than was the case at the Endoscopy Centers. We can only hope. For those brave souls that do report wrongdoing and suffer retaliation or discrimination as a result, White & Wetherall stands ready to pursue a remedy in court on their behalf. In other words, you Nevada whistle-blowers do your part, and we’ll do ours.
For more information on recent changes to Nevada’s medical whistle-blower laws, see the revisions at http://www.leg.state.nv.us/75th2009/Bills/AB/AB10_EN.pdf.
It’s our civic duty to fight corruption and fraud, particularly when perpetrated against our government. In a “qui tam” action, whistle-blowers can be rewarded with a healthy share of money recovered by the government from unscrupulous government contractors who over-charged, including physicians who steal from the government by trumping up “treatment” charges paid for by us taxpayers via medicaid or medicare. Think it doesn’t happen in Nevada, by Nevada doctors of all people? Think again and see below. If you’re aware of fraud which has been or is being committed against our government, against all of us, contact White & Wetherall about pursuing a qui tam action on your behalf, and potentially obtain a reward just for doing the right thing.
Medicare fraud suspected in Las Vegas.
In an article entitled, “The Allegation: Driven by greed, physicians charge Medicare, government insurance plans for patient exams that never happened,” the Las Vegas Sun (3/29, Allen) reported, “Allegations about doctors fraudulently billing Medicare and insurance companies are whispered throughout the Las Vegas medical community, and for good reason.” According to a study, “Medicare…spends more per patient in the Las Vegas region than in 90 percent of the regions nationwide.” While “the high level of billing could suggest better care… it is more likely, according to experts, that the government is paying for unnecessary services or ones that weren’t even rendered.” Pat Burns, spokesman for the national advocacy group Taxpayers Against Fraud, said, “Fraud is the ‘logical choice’ for unscrupulous doctors because the chance of getting caught is slight and the penalties for getting caught are weak.
