Whistleblower Protection Blog : Whistleblower Lawyer & Attorney : National Whistleblower Legal Defense and Education Fund : Whistleblower Protection, Fraud Claims : Washington DC

House and Senate leaders are in "conference" right now debating whether or not employees in the Public Health Service (PHS) will obtain whistleblower protections. At stake is whether or not thousands of PHS employees who work at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be protected if they blow the whistle on waste, fraud or safety violations.

The National Whistleblowers Center is urging Congress to grant PHS employees the same protections against retaliation as their colleagues who work at HHS and the FDA.

The House-Senate Conference debating the FDA Reform Act (S.3187 / H.R. 5651) will decide the fate of PHS whistleblowers within hours.

Currently there is a loophole in federal law that allows government bureaucrats to fire PHS employee who blow the whistle. There is no protection for PHS whistleblowers who report the waste of taxpayer money or "bad science" being used to justify major public health decisions.

This weekend whistleblower advocates, with strong support among many Members of Congress, proposed a legislative fix for this unjustifiable and dangerous loophole. The fix would simply provide PHS employees with the same protection that all other workers at HHS/FDA have. It gives them the right to lawfully blow the whistle, have an independent investigation conducted by the Office of Special Counsel into any retaliation, and a hearing on the merits of their case. Simple due process.

Take action and tell us your thoughts on this glaring loophole in the comments.

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Whistleblowers have succeeded in a $1.5 billion off-label marketing case against Abbott Laboratories Inc., the Department of Justice announced today. Combined, the $700 million criminal fines and $800 million civil fines are the second largest government recovery from a drug company in history.

The Department of Justice intervened after four whistleblowers filed suit against the company. These plaintiffs provided original information to prove that Abbott marketed a drug called Depakote for controlling agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients and to treat schizophrenia. However, the FDA had never approved Depakote for either use, and Abbott-sponsored studies showed that the drug was both ineffective in these areas and also potentially dangerous. 

“Not only did Abbott engage in off-label promotion, but it targeted elderly dementia patients and downplayed the risks apparent from its own clinical studies,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West. “As this criminal and civil resolution demonstrates, those who put profits ahead of patients will pay a hefty price.”

The fines from these suits are hefty, indeed. Government recoveries are three times the amount of the fraud. Since many crimes are never discovered, though, companies still see an incentive to commit fraud. The Department of Justice's visible and successful cooperation with whistleblowers will force companies to reevaluate their cost-benefit analyses. It is clear, then, that this $1.5 billion settlement is a win for accountability and a win for American health and safety.

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The Oregon legislature is debating a bill which would protect from retaliation any hospital employee who reports misconduct that he/she believes is a violation of law, policy, or professional standards. Under current Oregon law, nurses already enjoy these protections. Senate Bill 237 would extend these protections to all hospital staff. 

Although it is unfortunate that the law contains an internal-reporting requirement for particular types of disclosures, it is particularly heartening to see states taking steps to fill the gaps in protection for healthcare workers. Employees in the medical field have long been without protection, and they were provided with very limited protections under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009. The whistleblower-protection portions of that law mainly protected employees who report to their employer misconduct with regard to insurance, such as the refusal of coverage based on improper reasons, like pre-existing conditions (it is notable that the 2009 national healthcare law also provided crucial amendments to the False Claims Act). Until Congress passes a national law protecting healthcare employees who blow the whistle, it is vital that states like Oregon step up to the plate for medical professionals in their state.

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