Many people do not necessarily want to stand out in their workplace. They would rather go to work, keep their head down, perform their duties as necessary and go home at the end of the day. Of course, if someone notices that something unprofessional or even illegal has taken place, that person may feel a sense of urgency to make the problem known.

You may work in the billing department of a hospital or another medical facility, and throughout the course of your duties, you may have suspected that doctors were overbilling patients and insurance companies. At first, you may have thought that the doctors were making valid entries for bills, but upon closer inspection, you started to suspect wrongdoing.

What does overbilling look like?

Overbilling patients and insurance companies is a fraudulent act. You certainly do not want the defrauding of anyone to occur, especially sick patients in need of help. Of course, you do not want to make wrongful accusations either. However, if you have noticed any of the following issues with medical bills, you may have reason to blow the whistle:

• A doctor or multiple doctors consistently provide unnecessary services to patients in order to charge for those services.
• Medical staff members may charge for services that they did not perform.
• A medical professional bills a patient for each service individually when the services could have been bundled, thus saving the patient money.
• Staff members receive referral kickbacks from other providers.
• Doctors bill patients for more expensive versions of a service.

Of course, health care fraud can come in other forms too. As a result, it is understandable if you feel unsure about your suspicions. You may also worry about coming forward with your suspicions out of fear of retaliation. Fortunately, you could seek protection under the federal False Claims Act.

What can the act do?

If you feel it is necessary to blow the whistle on the company for which you work, the FCA could allow you to file a lawsuit on behalf of the United States government and obtain a reward, typically a percentage of proceeds collected from the government, if the company is prosecuted.

If you believe that you have reason to take such action, you may want to discuss the matter with an experienced Kentucky attorney. Your legal counsel can help you assess your suspicions, determine whether you have reason to move forward with a claim and explain how the FCA could protect you.