Monday, March 08, 2010
False Claims Bill Would Increase Lawsuits, Drive Up Health Care Costs
Key General Assembly committees are considering false claims legislation that was narrowly defeated on the Senate floor last year. The bills (SB 279/HB 525) would authorize a person to file suit on behalf of the state for an alleged false claim and recover up to 30 percent of the proceeds of the suit, plus attorney’s fees and costs.
The Maryland Chamber opposes this bill because it would add duplicative new layers of penalties for offenses that are already illegal under existing state and federal law. Existing state law provides for the collection of triple damages for persons attempting to defraud the state, with felony sanctions and imprisonment for egregious cases. These state laws are supplemented by the federal False Claims Act that already provides an avenue for individuals to file suit on behalf of the federal government for alleged false health claims and receive a share of the recovers.
The Maryland Chamber believes that duplicating the federal law at the state level will increase the number of lawsuits without assuring any increase in fraud recoveries. By increasing lawsuits against health care providers, it would drive up health care costs for employers and further limit access to health care in Maryland.
“It’s the state’s job to enforce state law,” Maryland Chamber Vice President of Government Affairs Ron Wineholt said. “We support vigorous enforcement of existing law, but we do not endorse the creation of a new private cause of action at the state level for individuals to pursue these claims.”
For more information, contact Ron Wineholt at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
