The Office of the Inspector general of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services has issued guidelines for evaluating state false claims acts.
The guidelines, published in the August 21, 2006 issue of the Federal Register (71 Fed. Reg. 48552), were issued pursuant to provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. That law provided financial incentives for states to enact legislation that established liability for persons or organizations that defraud the state Medicaid program. States that enact laws that meet certain requirements would receive 10 percent more from any recovery from a state action brought under the state law, with the federal share being decreased by 10 percent.
Among the requirements are that the state law contain provisions that are at least as effective in rewarding and facilitating qui tam actions as are those in the federal False Claims Act.