The Qui Tam Provision of the Federal False Claims Act: The Statute in Current Form, Its History and Its Unique Position to Influence the Health Care Industry

Unlike the defense industry (which has relatively little contact with the general public), the health care industry, as a service industry, is largely reliant on the general public. A lawsuit involving fraud in health care threatens to harm the public\u27s opinion of the health care industry. For this reason, the qui tam provisions of the FCA (False Claims Act) are in a unique position to generate action and changes and have a substantial impact on the health care industry. This note will discuss the history of the qui tam element of the FCA; a breakdown of the statute;areas in the new amendments that are encouraging relators to come forward with information; its application to health care; and the positive and negative impact the act stands to have on the health care industry