Lawmakers heed evidence that fraud law is working
MEDICAID FRAUD LAW EXTENDED: The Legislature took its sweet time, but finally reauthorized a renewal of the Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act. Attorney General Bob Ferguson sought the legislation because it discourages fraud in Medicaid billings and recovered $6.1 million in overpayments since 2012.
The law gives the AG’s Office authority to go after Medicaid cheats in civil court to recover excess charges. This is a lot easier than proving a crime occurred, and its provision letting whistleblowers share in the recovered funds is incentive for company insiders to bring wrongs to light. Medicaid provides health coverage to low-income and disabled individuals.
A provision in the original 2012 law allowed third parties to take civil action, and critics feared this would lead to frivolous lawsuits against health providers that collect payments from Medicaid. But a legislative audit in 2015 found no frivolous lawsuits.
Senate Bill 6156 was a bipartisan effort sponsored by Republican Sen. Ann Rivers of La Center. Only one lawmaker voted against it.
The fraud law would have expired June 30, limiting the state’s ability to share in national fraud settlements. Although the legislative path was slow, it made sense in retrospect to require evidence the law is working without causing problems.
In the latest recovery, the AG won a $2.7 million judgment against the owner of Wheelchairs Plus Inc., who sold used chairs that he claimed were new. The state still has to collect from the company, which is in federal bankruptcy court.
COFFEE, AIRPLANES, NOW MARIJUANA?: Washington state is responsible for almost half of the legal marijuana sales to adults in the United States, according to cannabis market research firm ArcView. Colorado and Washington were the first states to legalize recreational sales.
ArcView reported that Washington’s legal sales totaled $709 million in 2015, the first full year of recreational sales. The state previously allowed only medical marijuana sales.
The recreational market opened in July 2014, almost two years after Washington voters approved an initiative to allow sales from state-regulated stores, which remain illegal under federal law.
This story was originally published April 3, 2016 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Lawmakers heed evidence that fraud law is working."