The False Claims Act: What to Know, What to Do  

Category: Practice Management

By: Julie Sheppard, BSN, JD, CHC

Originally enacted during the Civil War, the federal False Claims Act (FCA), also known as Lincoln's Law, is one of the five major fraud and abuse laws.  Although its original intent was to protect the government from fraud related to selling supplies to the Union Army, today it protects against charges to federal Healthcare programs for inadequate or unnecessary care.  While the law has evolved over its 150 years existence, it was strengthened in 2009 leading to a record breaking $2.3 billion brought in by whistleblower settlements and judgments in 2011.

This law is important for medical practices to understand because violations can result in exclusion from federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, loss of medical licensure, or hefty fines.  The FCA imposes treble damages (three times the programs' loss) on the reimburs...