Supreme Court strengthens whistleblower protections in government fraud cases.

The US Supreme Court has ruled that a lawsuit brought by whistleblowers against SuperValu and Safeway, who claimed the pharmacies overcharged Medicare and Medicaid for prescription drugs, can move forward. The court threw out a lower court's ruling that said the retail pharmacies could not be held liable for fraud under the False Claims Act. The whistleblowers contend that the pharmacies reported higher, non-discounted prices to the government instead of the discounted prices they actually charged. The Supreme Court sent the matter back to the Seventh Circuit to proceed consistent with the high court's opinion.