How the False Claims Act protects against elder abuse

Since our population is aging, there will be a large percentage of people who are over the age of 65 and residing in nursing homes in the near future. By 2025, it is estimated that 62 million people will be over the age of 65 and that 43% will need nursing home care. Although there are many abused elderly, only 10% of the elder abuse cases actually get reported. Additionally, in a two year period between 1999 and 2001, “more than thirty percent of nursing homes had at least one reported incident of abuse that could have resulted in harm to a resident” (Davidson, 330).

One statute that is used to stop elder abuse is the federal and state False Claims Act (FCA). Lawsuits based on the False Claims Act are brought when nursing homes did not provide proper care for their residents, but for which they received reimbursement from the government. Examples of false claims can be, for instance, overcharging for a product, not providing a service that was paid for, performing unnecessary procedures, providing less than the paid for amount of products, and charging for a particular product at a certain price but delivering another.

Anyone who is found guilty of making a false claim will pay triple damages, attorney's fees, and a fine of $5,500 to $11,000 for each claim. The people who report the false claim are “whistleblowers” because they blow the whistle to bring attention to the wrong being committed. The whistleblower can hire a lawyer on a contingency fee so if they win, they get to keep a percentage of the winnings (False Claims Act Legal Center, 1). Since the whistle blower is rewarded financially, he will have an incentive to report the abuse. This is a way private citizens can help the government stop these cases of fraud.

More attention is being brought to these cases. For instance, “the U.S. Attorney in Philadelphia has entered into two settlements in cases against nursing homes, for $100,000 and $500,000, respectively, in addition to requirements for facility monitoring and significant improvements in quality of care” (Stiegel, 5). In July 2006, Tenet Healthcare settled their case with the Federal Government for $900 million for billing violations, kickbacks and overstating their bills. (False Claims Act Legal Center, 1).

In the future, if more people report these cases and more nursing homes are held liable under this statute, nursing homes will have more incentive to protect their residents against abuse.



Davidson, Michael J. “The Elder Law Journal.” Feb. 25, 2005. Volume 12, pg. 327-330.

"Seniors & the Law: A guide for Maturing Californians." 2009. California Bar Foundation.

Stiegel, Lori. "The Changing Role of the Courts in Elder Abuse Cases. American Bar Association."

The False Claims Act Legal Center.