Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendant—or accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.
Independence Blue Cross, the largest medical insurance provider in the Philadelphia area, does not admit to wrongdoing. It was accused in a lawsuit backed by the U.S. Department of Justice of misrepresenting the severity of patient illnesses to juice risk-adjusted Medicare payments.
Senior Airman Tamera Moniq Bolden-Cleckley, of Boerne, Texas, was assigned to the 96th Surgical Operations Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base and had served as a radiologic technologist there since 2021.
The shiny Tesla Cybertruck cost $100,000. Its owner, Kevin Curry, 64, was convicted by a federal jury for his role in orchestrating a kickback scheme to defraud the military healthcare program. He awaits sentencing.
Five beneficiaries of the safety-net healthcare program have sued with the support of the National Health Law Program. They are joined by prestigious industry lobbies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Plaintiffs allege Anne Arundel Medical Center in Maryland, the target of the data breach, had a server containing unencrypted patient data that hackers were able to access during the breach. The hospital and its parent health system are still recovering from the incident.
NPs purportedly would diagnose serious, complex conditions without the necessary medical imaging to reach such conclusions, the Department of Justice said Sept. 30.
Brookline-based Bournewood Health Systems and First Psychiatric Planners are also accused of pushing patients to attend facilities known to be overcrowded and dangerous.
In addition to the hefty fine, the New York physician has agreed to relinquish ownership of his cardiology practice after exchanging kickbacks for PET and SPECT referrals for more than a decade.
The Amsterdam-based imaging industry giant emphasized that the agreement “does not include or constitute any admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault.”