David J. Chizewer and Frederick H. Cohen were the litigation equivalent of firemen when they agreed to represent a whistleblower against an Illinois health maintenance organization (HMO) he alleged had defrauded the state Medicaid program. His case was going up in flames quickly and they had to decide if they could salvage it.
Amerigroup Corp.’s Illinois HMO was under contract with the Illinois Department of Public Aid (IDPA) to enroll anyone eligible for Medicaid without regard to medical condition in exchange for a set amount based on the recipients’ age and gender.
