Contrary to popular belief, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 does not require hospitals to provide training to new employees, agents, and contractors on their rights as whistleblowers and on the hospital’s policies and procedures for detecting and preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in federal healthcare programs. The original Senate bill required such compliance training, but the final legislation does not. Section 6032 of the DRA does, however, mandate that entities have written policies that detail procedures for detecting fraud and abuse, and that outline the penalties for making false claims and the protections accorded employees as whistleblowers. The hospital’s false-claims policy must also be included in employee handbooks.
