ATLANTA— The Georgia Senate recently passed House Bill 973, sending it to Governor Deal for consideration. Sponsored by State Representative Edward Lindsey (R-Atlanta), HB 973 expands the 2007 Medicaid False Claims Act to include entities that defraud contractors, subcontractors and agencies from the Georgia Medicaid program.
“The passage of HB 973 expands one of the most successful tools Georgia possesses for recouping taxpayer money that is fraudulently lost through our Medicaid program,” said Rep. Lindsey. “Since the implementation of the original Medicaid False Claims Act, which I sponsored in 2007, Georgia has recovered more than $60 million in the last three years alone. Approximately $11 million of that was reclaimed through a cooperative effort with the federal government.”
The Medicaid False Claims Act permits the State Attorney General or private whistleblowers to bring actions to recover taxpayer money that is fraudulently lost from Georgia’s Medicaid program. The program also allows for a cooperative partnership with the federal government which pays for a portion of the state Medicaid program. Through this partnership, Georgia is also able to receive an additional 10% of recovered fraudulently lost federal funds.
For more information about HB 973, click here.
Representative Edward Lindsey represents the citizens of District 54, which includes portions of Fulton County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2004, and currently serves on the Appropriations, Education, Ethics, Industry and Labor, Judiciary, and Rules committees.
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