Nearly eight years ago, Charlottesvillians learned they had the highest health insurance premiums in the country. The Department of Justice filed a notice in December that it was intervening in a longstanding whistleblower case against Sentara Health, which the government alleged had cost taxpayers $665 million.
By June, the DOJ said, never mind.
What happened during those six months to cause the DOJ to withdraw from a case it had been investigating for more than four years?
The DOJ declined to shed light on the decision. “Outside of information on the public docket, we aren’t going to be adding additional comment,” says Brian McGinn, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Virginia.
“Very unusual,” says Tim Heaphy, former U.S. attorney in that same office. “When the department decides to intervene, that means they’ve vetted the information. My sense is this could be the new administration retreating from white collar crime and emphasizing violent crime and immigration.”
Attorney Zach Kitts focuses on whistleblower cases, known as qui tam actions, which means citizens can file claims of fraud on behalf of the government. He says it’s uncommon for the DOJ to intervene and estimates the department does so only in 7 to 8 percent such cases. To move to intervene and then dismiss, “that’s the rarest,” he says.
He doesn’t see a change in administration as a factor in the decision to withdraw from the case. “Health care fraud is a priority with...
Tanya Mittal's brother had an exclusive interaction with Zoom/Telly Talk India Tanya Mittal has been making headlines in the Bigg Boss 19 house with her statements and actions. Her tall claims abo...