We’re whistleblower lawyers who spend our careers speaking in legalese. But every once in a while, a case comes along that is so alarming, yet so couched in jargon, that an issue of great importance can easily escape notice. When that happens, the public deserves to know about it.

Our client, Senator Charles Grassley, has filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to review and overturn an appeals court case called SuperValu. Why do we bring this very dry sentence to the pages of a non-legal publication? Because the issue at hand is so simple and so important that every American can appreciate what’s at stake.

First, about the case. SuperValu, the grocery chain, sells prescription drugs to people covered by Medicare and Medicaid. The government pays the cost of those drugs. To make sure it pays the same as any other customer, the government requires SuperValu to report its “usual and customary charges to the general public” for customers who pay cash, with no insurance. The government won’t pay more than that price.

This case was started by two whistleblowers who sued under the False Claims Act and alleged that SuperValu offered rock-bottom prices to customers without insurance, but still charged high rates for Medicare and Medicaid patients. SuperValu allegedly didn’t report those lower prices, and instead told the government that its “usual” price was eight to 15 times higher than the prices it charged cash customers most of the time. The government then...

Read Full Story: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/recent-case-could-undermine-rules-154500601.html