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.
The U.S. Department of Justice says its investigation into the scheme to defraud Amtrak’s employee health plan resulted in 19 prosecutions, all resulting in guilty pleas. For her role in over $2.2M of fraudulent billing, physical therapist Taejin Kim will serve a year in prison.
Jeffrey and Kim Sayward, of Florida, charge that radiologist Eric J. Sax, MD, working for MaineHealth Hospital in Biddeford at the time, failed to identify a dangerous blood clot three years ago.
Washington-based Providence Health and Services denies the allegations. The lawsuit, filed by the state attorney general, details incidents of noncompliance and retaliation dating back to 2021.
The new caps on how much borrowers pursuing professional degrees may take out have been set at $200,000. However, the plaintiffs—led by Maryland and New York—take issue with how the Trump administration defines a “professional degree,” as it includes many common healthcare fields.
While Judge Gregory Carro ruled the search of a backpack worn by Luigi Mangione—the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson—was unlawful, some of its key contents will still be allowed in at trial.
The insurer is planning to reduce reimbursement timelines for hospitals in Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota and Missouri from 30 days to 15. The details are unclear, but the company said the framework could extend nationwide.
The California-based health system faced multiple accusations of upcoding diagnoses to receive additional risk-adjusted payments from the Medicare Advantage program. Its payer plan and providers were implicated in what the DOJ described as systemic fraud. Kaiser Permanente denies any wrongdoing.
A mother in Georgia alleges the problematic prenatal ultrasound findings forced her care team to make medical decisions resulting in her child being born with lifelong disabilities.
The traveling clinician pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree assault. All other charges were dropped, and he was released from jail. According to his attorney, the cardiologist agreed to this plea agreement to "get on with his life."
In a lawsuit, the EHR giant accuses Health Gorilla, et al., of posing as patient care entities to gain access to nearly 300,000 medical records, in violation of HIPAA. Health Gorilla vehemently denies the allegations.
The Wall Street Journal obtained a copy of a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which reviewed more than 50,000 documents sent by UnitedHealth related to its Medicare Advantage patients. The outlet published the findings of the inquiry.
According to a new wrongful death lawsuit, members of the flight crew failed to pick up on a man's stroke symptoms, resulting in significant care delays. His family is now suing for damages in excess of $50,000.