Dive Brief:
- Louisiana internist William LaCorte has made $38 million in whistleblower payments after filing 12 False Claims lawsuits against healthcare firms allegedly defrauding federal healthcare programs.
- The suits, which were filed over the past two decades, have also been lucrative for the feds, who recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on suits filed by LaCorte.
- LaCorte has both fans and critics. Critics note that of his 10 cases that have concluded, five closed without a payout, and one was dubbed "threadbare" by a judge.
Dive Insight:
False Claims suits brought on the government's behalf, known as qui tam suits, can be filed individually or joined by government agencies such as the Justice Department. When the Justice Department jumps in, it typically wins—for example, in cases it joined between 1987 through 2010, 95% produced settlements or judgments. Meanwhile, 94% of suits individuals file are dismissed without settlements or judgments.
Still, that hasn't stopped individuals like LaCorte from making a second job out of being a whistleblower. For the foreseeable future, it seems likely that some individuals will pursue such actions over and over again given the size of the potential payoff. Unless the False Claims Act is changed to set a higher bar for filing, in other words, healthcare whistleblowing is here to stay.