FISCAL NOTE
Date Requested: January 31, 2024
Time Requested: 01:33 PM |
| Agency: |
Attorney General, WV |
|---|
| CBD Number: |
Version: |
Bill Number: |
Resolution Number: |
| 3343 |
Introduced |
HB5391 |
|
|---|
| CBD Subject: |
Health |
|---|
|
FUND(S):
Attorney General – General Fund
Sources of Revenue:
General Fund
Legislation creates:
Creates New Revenue, Increases Existing Expenses
Fiscal Note Summary
Effect this measure will have on costs and revenues of state government.
This bill places significant new and ongoing responsibilities on the Attorney General regarding investigating potential and alleged false or fraudulent claims for payment to the state, pursuing civil actions against violators, evaluating and possibly intervening in civil actions brought by private persons for false or fraudulent claims, and otherwise being involved in litigation regarding any such false or fraudulent claims. Although some aspects of enforcement are left to the Attorney General’s discretion, any actions taken pursuant to this new Act would be a direct increase in expenses of the Office.
Fiscal Note Detail
| Effect of Proposal |
Fiscal Year |
2024
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
2025
Increase/Decrease
(use"-") |
Fiscal Year
(Upon Full
Implementation) |
| 1. Estmated Total Cost |
100,000 |
100,000 |
100,000 |
| Personal Services |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Current Expenses |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Repairs and Alterations |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Assets |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Other |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 2. Estimated Total Revenues |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Explanation of above estimates (including long-range effect):
The numbers recorded above reflect the potential impact of this bill as possibly creating an unknown number of multiple new investigations and subsequent civil actions, as well as generating independent civil actions to be evaluated and possibly adopted by the Attorney General’s Office. Implementation also would necessitate a new process by which alleged false or fraudulent claims for payment could be reported for investigation, as contemplated in the bill. These investigative and evaluative responsibilities would require additional personnel, as would the handling of civil actions that arise from those efforts. Depending on the number of cases filed, the cost to the State in terms of increased expenses could be considerable. Such actions also bear potential for monetary recoveries, and a small portion of those recoveries would offset some portion of the increased costs that could arise. However, these possible future amounts cannot be forecasted in terms of (i) amounts or (ii) time before any recoveries could be reasonably expected. This is reflected in the revenue estimate above as zero.
Memorandum
The bill impacts multiple funds of the Attorney General’s Office, namely the Attorney General – General Fund, the Attorney General – Consumer Protection Fund, and the Medicaid Fraud Control Fund. Regarding any recoveries relative to Medicaid, it should be noted that there is an existing, well-developed process to pursue fraud via the WV Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The proposed distribution of proceeds generated from false claims brought for fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program could jeopardize the State’s ability to pay for its share of the MFCU’s annual operating expenses. The proceeds generated from such Medicaid false claims civil actions constitutes the sole funding source of the State’s share of the MFCU’s annual operating expenses.
Person submitting Fiscal Note: Curtis R. A. Capehart
Email Address: curtis.r.a.capehart@wvago.gov