At the suggestion of the Vermont Attorney General's Office, several state senators will introduce false claims legislation targeting fraud in the state's healthcare system.
The new Vermont legislation will mimic the federal False Claims Act and will be aimed specifically at Medicaid fraud within the state, according to a Brattleboro Reformer report.
If Vermont passes its own federally compliant false claims act, the state will be able to keep a larger percentage of the money recovered from resulting lawsuits and settlements.
In the past four years, Vermont's Medicaid fraud unit, with help from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice, has collected $23.5 million in Medicaid fraud settlements, according to the report.
Currently, the money collected is split with Vermont receiving 40 percent and the federal government receiving 60 percent. Under the new proposed false claims legislation, the settlement money would be spit evenly between the state and the federal government, according to the report.
"As we're moving to a world where the state's role in healthcare is greatly expanded, ensuring that Vermont has the tools to protect its money from waste fraud and abuse is critically important," said John Treadwell, chief of the criminal division in the Vermont Attorney General's Office.
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