Whistleblower Ombudsman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Whistleblower Ombudsman - Essay Example Whistleblowing is essential to weeding out fraud and abuse in the healthcare industry. The government is particularly keen in promoting whistleblowing because fraud and abuse may reach up to 3% to 10% of actual health care costs (Kesselheim & Studdert, 2008, p.342). Recoveries from the False Claims Act (FCA) since 2009 have reached approximately $9 billion (Kesselheim & Studdert, 2008, p.342). To encourage whistleblowing, the Whistleblower Protection Act bans retaliation. Retaliation refers to threatening or taking action against employees because they have disclosed fraudulent or abusive actions (Office of Inspector General, 2015). These actions may include, but are not limited to, poor performance review, demotion, termination, suspension, or downgrade, loss of, or revocation of security clearance (Office of Inspector General, 2015). The law does not allow retaliation for: (1) filing an appeal, complaint, or grievance; (2) helping another person file the case or to testify for whis tleblowers; (3) cooperating with or giving information to the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) or Office of Inspector General (OIG); or (4) not obeying an unlawful instruction or order (Office of Inspector General, 2015). These conditions that prevent retaliation are important because it helps decrease the fears of other people who want to disclose important information, but are not the direct whistleblowers. For instance, an accountant gives financial documents and memos to the OSC, even when he is not the whistleblower. The law prevents retaliation against him from his company. In other words, he has the same protections as the whistleblowers. Besides these protections, the FCA entitles whistleblowers to up to 30% for the amount recovered during trials or settlements (Golinkin, 2013, p.304). This is a monetary incentive too, but I believe that this is not the main