Investing.com -- The US Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Eli Lilly & Co.'s appeal of a $194 million award in a whistleblower lawsuit that accused the pharmaceutical company of Medicaid fraud through misreported drug prices.

The justices refused without comment to consider the company's appeal seeking to overturn the US False Claims Act. Eli Lilly argued the law violates the Constitution by allowing private parties to enforce federal law on behalf of the government and share in any recovery.

The lawsuit centered on rebates that drug companies must pay to state Medicaid programs. Whistleblower Ronald Streck alleged that Eli Lilly understated the amount of money it received from wholesalers, which reduced the company's required rebate payments by $61 million. A federal jury in Chicago found Eli Lilly liable.

Eli Lilly described Streck as a private bounty hunter who has pursued cases against pharmaceutical companies for 17 years. The company said it was being penalized for using a widespread industry practice that four federal judges had upheld in a separate case against the company filed by the same whistleblower.

Streck litigated the case without assistance from the Justice Department, which chose not to take over the lawsuit as permitted under the False Claims Act.

Whistleblowers filed a record 979 False Claims Act lawsuits in fiscal 2024, with settlements and judgments exceeding $2.9 billion, according to Justice Department statistics.

The Supreme Court's conservative wing has previously questioned the False Claims Act, with Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett stating in 2023 that the court should consider declaring the law unconstitutional.