In a move to fortify the Pennsylvania treasury’s defenses against fraud, Governor Josh Shapiro utilized his 2026-2027 Budget Address earlier today to call for the creation of a Pennsylvania state False Claims Act (“FCA”). Federal and state FCAs allow the government to seek enhanced damages against fraudsters and offer whistleblowers awards for exposing fraud against the government. Governor Shapiro, leaning on his past experience as the Commonwealth’s Attorney General, emphasized that the Commonwealth can augment its toolkit “to prosecute waste, fraud, and abuse by finally passing a False Claims Act in Pennsylvania, which allows us to collect additional damages and recoup more state dollars that would otherwise be lost to fraud.” Shapiro noted that there is bi-partisan support for such legislation.
Despite Pennsylvania’s status as a magnet for Medicaid fraud, it remains one of the few states without a comprehensive civil statute to claw back stolen tax dollars through the public-private partnership of a state FCA. State FCA bills have been proposed in Pennsylvania for decades. But the bills have always floundered and never passed, having faced stiff resistance from special interest lobbying groups.
The cornerstone of the FCA legal framework is a centuries-old mechanism known as qui tam. Derived from the Latin phrase meaning “he who sues in the name of the king as well as himself,” qui tam provisions empower private citizens—often called “relators” or whistleblowers—to...
In a move to fortify the Pennsylvania treasury’s defenses against fraud, Governor Josh Shapiro utilized his 2026-2027 Budget Address earlier today to call for the creation of a Pennsylvania state ...