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.
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.
States with false claims laws that apply only to fraud involving Medicaid or other state healthcare funds: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington.
States with laws that apply to fraud involving a broad range of state-funded programs, including Medicaid: California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
There are also two state laws—the California Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act and the Illinois Insurance Claims Fraud Prevention Act—that help whistleblowers fight fraud against private insurers with the potential to receive financial rewards for their assistance.
Some states and the District of Columbia also permit whistleblowers to report violations of tax fraud and share in the states’ recoveries. Illinois, Indiana, and Rhode Island permit whistleblowers to file qui tam suits related to violations of tax law other than income tax law. The District of Columbia permits whistleblowers to file qui tam suits related to violations of tax law including income tax law. Maryland permits whistleblowers to report tax fraud and share in the state’s recoveries under a separate whistleblower program modeled after the IRS’s whistleblower program.
Here are links to the false claims whistleblower laws enacted by states and the District of Columbia:
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.
We do not list the false claims acts of states that have neither a qui tam provision nor a whistleblower reward. These include Kansas (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 75-7501 through § 75-7511, general application), Mississippi (Miss. Code Ann. § 43-13-201 through § 43-13-233, Medicaid only), Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 68-934 through § 68-947, Medicaid only), Oregon (Or. Rev. Stat. § 180.750 through § 180.785, general application) and Utah (Utah Code § 26-20-1 through § 26-20-15, healthcare only).
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 this information.