“Unique Areas Of Risk In Illinois ICFPA" – Chris Haney published in Law 360

Over the past decade, efforts to enforce health care fraud have been bolstered significantly with increased state and federal funding along with an arsenal of new investigative tools. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act alone provides an additional $350 million over 10 years to help fight health care fraud. Less publicized legislation has also been enacted to offer more options and incentives for those with knowledge of fraud, enabling such individuals to more frequently initiate litigation and share in the monetary damages of successful cases. 

For example, while the risk of private whistleblowers has long existed in the health care industry, the Illinois Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act (ICFPA) expands those risks in a way that is gaining attention in Illinois and across the country. Most notably, the statute pertains to private insurance claims, rather than only those claims involving government funds. It also presents the state of Illinois with an additional avenue for pursuing monetary penalties at a time when its fiscal affairs are in a state of crisis. 

This article, previously published in Law360, addresses the key risks and implications of the Illinois statute along with recent trends in enforcement.

Click here to read the full article.