Wisconsin taxpayers lose out on millions after Scott Walker, lawmakers repeal anti-fraud law

[TexasTowelie]

Wisconsin taxpayers have missed out on millions of dollars in settlements after state officials quietly eliminated one of the most effective tools for rooting out fraud in the $9 billion-a-year state Medicaid program, interviews and public records show.

It is a glaring exception to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s crusade aimed at eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in state government.

Wisconsin would have qualified for an estimated $11 million in additional settlement money from companies found to have defrauded the Medicaid program since 2013 if legislators and Walker had not weakened and then repealed the state False Claims Act.

That estimate was produced by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism using methodology endorsed by Taxpayers Against Fraud, a nonprofit organization that advocates for whistleblowers and government efforts to root out fraud. The state Department of Justice declined to estimate the loss.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/wisconsin-taxpayers-lose-out-on-millions-after-scott-walker-lawmakers/article_38deb7ef-9cd8-569a-816d-d68d8bef525f.html

[democratisphere]

1. That means that the GOP Wisconsin Wackos are PRO-fraud supporters.

[Scruffy1]

2. Having lived in this state once I am not surprised.n/t

[riversedge]

3. Wisconsin is the only state to repeal its False Claims Act, a distinction he believes makes it one

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/wisconsin-taxpayers-lose-out-on-millions-after-scott-walker-lawmakers/article_38deb7ef-9cd8-569a-816d-d68d8bef525f.html

Stephen Kohn, executive director of the National Whistleblower Center, said Wisconsin is the only state to repeal its False Claims Act, a distinction he believes makes it one of the worst states in the country for whistleblowers.

Over the past 30 years, 88 percent of fraud cases brought on behalf of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which runs Medicaid, were filed by whistleblowers, according to figures provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Between 1987 and 2016, the government initiated 907 cases, while whistleblowers brought 6,683 cases.

Such whistleblower cases, known as qui tam cases, also brought in more money than those launched by the government. Whistleblower cases filed on behalf of HHS brought in $27.8 billion to the federal government, with $4.6 billion going to whistleblowers and their attorneys. Cases initiated by the government brought in $6.1 billion. The figures do not include billions of dollars returned to states, nor do they include criminal fines levied against the companies, according to Taxpayers Against Fraud.

Repeal stymies multi-million-dollar suit................................................