A federal judge dismissed a whistleblower lawsuit accusing a handful of insurance companies and hospitals of fraudulently overcharging Indiana's Medicaid program to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars while a few industry-friendly state officials allegedly looked the other way.
That's because the former state employees who filed the lawsuit did not show, in the judge's eyes, that the potentially fraudulent nature of these claims had a material impact on the government's decision to pay them ― or put simply, that the government actually cares.
But the case may not be over: the whistleblowers intend to file an amended complaint in November, said Daniel Miller of Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP, which is representing them.
Much has changed in the political environment around Medicaid since the unsealing of this federal lawsuit last fall. Ushered in with the President Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Braun administrations is a renewed focus on "waste, fraud and abuse" within the Medicaid system ― especially in Indiana, whose Medicaid office has been contending with cost-cutting measures related to a $1 billion budget shortfall.
One of Braun's earliest executive orders was for the Family and Social Services Administration to order an independent audit of claims data from the state employee health plan and the Medicaid managed care entities the state contracts with to administer the Medicaid program. A report of these findings is due Nov. 30.
Miller said his...
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