Gov. Jay Inslee signed a bill reauthorizing the state’s Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act Thursday.
The bill was requested by Attorney General Bob Ferguson; a press release from his office says the act is one of the state’s most effective tools to combat Medicaid fraud.
“Thanks to action by the governor and the Legislature, my Medicaid Fraud Control Unit can continue recovering stolen dollars lost to fraud, deterring misuse of government funds, and holding fraudsters accountable,” Ferguson said in the release.
The act allows the attorney general to bring civil cases against fraudulent providers to recover funds, returning millions of dollars back to the state.
The Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated Centralia Middle School and found that it made false claims between March 2011 and June 2013.
The school district had to pay $372,000 to the state’s Health Care Authority as part of a settlement agreement.
Senate Bill 6156 eliminates a sunset for most of the act and extends the sunset on whistleblower provisions until 2023. Without approval of the bill, the act would have expired on June 30.
Republican Sen. Ann Rivers, of La Center, sponsored the bill.
“This legislation represents the kind of common-sense measures that taxpayers wish lawmakers would champion more often,” Rivers said. “I am honored to be part of ensuring that this cost-savings and consumer-protection act remains strong.”
Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, sponsored a companion bill.
“There's been a lot of talk about accountability this session,” Jinkins said.
“This bill will ensure that patients are getting the care they need and that the government investments in patient care are being used effectively and efficiently. Since we first enacted this, we've had a 3–1 return on investment. That's what accountability looks like.”
In December 2015, the Joint Legislative Audit & Review Committee didn’t find any evidence of frivolous claims and unanimously approved a report encouraging the act’s renewal.
In 2012, the False Claims Act passed 56-42, mostly along party lines. Since it passed, civil fraud recoveries increased 28 percent and the state has recovered $3 for every $1 invested for a total of $6.1 million recovered.
If the bill wasn’t passed, federal money would have been lost as the federal government provides a $3-to-$1 match for all state money to enforce the act.
The state also would have lost its partnership with the National Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and whistleblower protections would have disappeared.
