Qui tam lawsuits can be filed by whistleblowers under certain state false claims laws if the fraud involves Medicaid funds or money from state and local agencies. In order for whistleblowers to receive a reward for their contributions to the recovery of state funds, most states that have whistleblower laws require the whistleblower to bring a qui tam lawsuit against the company or individual cheating the state.
In at least two states, Arkansas and Missouri, a whistleblower may receive a reward for providing information that leads to the recovery of state funds although these states do not allow whistleblowers to file qui tam lawsuits. Kansas has a false claims act, codified at KSA 75-7501 through 75-7511, but it has neither a qui tam provision nor a whistleblower reward and so is not reproduced on our site. This is also the case in Oregon, where the state false claims act permitting an action by the attorney general is codified at ORS 180.750 through 180.785.
Some state false claims laws apply only to fraud involving Medicaid or other state healthcare funds. In other states, the false claims law applies to a broader range of state - and sometimes local government - programs.
The following states have false claims laws that apply only to fraud involving Medicaid or other state healthcare funds: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia (until 7/1/12), Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Texas, Washington (effective date 6/7/12) and Wisconsin.
The following states have laws that apply to fraud involving a broad range of state-funded programs, including Medicaid: California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia (after 7/1/12), Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Here are links to the texts of False Claims Acts enacted by states and the District of Columbia:
The following states have False Claims Acts that allow the state to reward people who provide information that leads to the detection and prosecution of fraud against the government. Unlike the above states, however, a private individual can't file a qui tam lawsuit.
We attempt to keep the information on our site as current as possible, but you should check for recent amendments to the laws before relying on them.
