Z-0179.2
SENATE BILL 5287
State of Washington
64th Legislature
2015 Regular Session
By Senators Keiser, Frockt, Conway, Parlette, and Hasegawa; by request of Attorney General
Read first time 01/19/15. Referred to Committee on Health Care.
AN ACT Relating to the medicaid fraud false claims act; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 43.131.419 and 43.131.420.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  The legislature recognizes that medicaid provider fraud drives up health care costs for Washingtonians, harms medicaid clients and fair providers, and costs taxpayers. The legislature also recognizes that as medicaid coverage expands, opportunities for fraud increase. Having cost-effective resources and law enforcement tools to recover money lost to fraud and to hold persons who engage in fraudulent conduct accountable is essential to the integrity of the medicaid program. The legislature realizes the ability to civilly prosecute fraud is an important deterrent that not only holds those who defraud taxpayers accountable, but also prevents fraud. It is therefore the intent of the legislature to preserve the state’s tools to combat medicaid provider fraud through the reauthorization of the medicaid fraud false claims act.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
(1) RCW 43.131.419 (Medicaid fraud false claims actTermination) and 2012 c 241 s 216; and
(2) RCW 43.131.420 (Medicaid fraud false claims actRepeal) and 2012 c 241 s 217.
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