Author name: Barrett Johnston Martin & Garrison, PLLC

This is the sixth and final entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.

This is the fifth entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.  

This is the fourth entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.  

This is the third entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.  

This is the second entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.  

This is the first entry in a six-part series on the process and practical realities of being a whistleblower and exposing fraud against the government.

Kickback schemes are among the most prevalent types of fraud in the federal healthcare system. However, compared to other types of fraud, the harm done by such schemes is not always as intuitive.  

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice formally intervened in a significant qui tam action against some of the largest health insurers in America—Aetna, Elevance (previously known as Anthem), and Humana. In a more than 200-page complaint, the Government alleges these insurance companies paid hundreds of millions of dollars in kickbacks to insurance brokers to steer patients into their Medicare Advantage plans. The brokers—companies eHealth, SelectQuote, and GoHealth—are also named defendants in the action (See DOJ press release here).