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.
Jawad Bhatti, MD is facing a 26-count indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice after he allegedly advertised the use of ozone gas as a treatment for pain, then billed Medicare and Medicaid for the unapproved procedures.
Multiple professional groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Physicians, challenge recent policy changes to vaccine recommendations for COVID-19, which end routine inoculations for minors and pregnant women.
Sweeping tax cuts and reduced spending on Medicaid and SNAP were signed into law by President Donald Trump. However, a key provision that would have paused new AI regulations was removed by the Senate.
Jennifer Forbes, 50, allegedly sent a cryptic, threatening letter to a UnitedHealthcare office along with an unknown substance. She has been charged with two counts of terrorism.
Tasha Saunders, 44, pleaded guilty to defrauding Medicaid in a scheme that involved creating fake patient records and forging the signatures of unwitting providers at a psychiatric rehabilitation center.
Drug distributors AmerisourceBergen (Cencora), Cardinal Health, McKesson, Johnson & Johnson, Teva and Allergan do not admit to wrongdoing. However, they have agreed to a settlement which will compensate providers for opioid abuse treatments.
After a bout of COVID-19, an 81-year-old woman developed bed sores that became infested with maggots. A lawsuit claims the facility failed to take proper action to treat the injury.
That number could rise to $6.75 million, depending on the number of patients who sign onto the class-action settlement levied against Virginia Mason Medical Center. The hospital does not admit to wrongdoing.
The Outsourcing Facilities Association, a Texas-based trade group, is alleging that supply issues still remain for Ozempic and Wegovy. The group believes the FDA has ignored those issues.
The dispute was with Everly Health, a telemedicine provider contracted to fulfill orders for COVID-19 tests during the pandemic. Walgreens was accused of violating provisions of a service agreement.