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.
McLaren Health Care fell victim to ransomware crime in 2023 and 2024, with the total number of victims exceeding 3.2 million. Those affected may be eligible for a cash payment. Per the terms of the agreement with lawyers representing victims, the health system does not admit to wrongdoing.
The U.S. Department of Justice said MultiCare admitted in court documents to ignoring warnings from a whistleblower and staff who said a neurosurgeon was performing spinal surgeries on patients without medical need and billing the procedures to Medicare.
The Federal Trade Commission was suing the pharmacy benefit manager over allegations it was deliberately inflating the price of insulin. Per the agreement, Express Scripts has agreed to end business practices that involved taking manufacturer rebates on wholesale drug costs without passing them on to patients.
Rad Partners "firmly" denied the allegations, which mirror a similar complaint from Aetna, contending it plans to "vigorously defend against these claims" in court.
After losing a court battle with the Fortune 500 company last year, Jeffrey C. Allard, MD, and attorneys are homing in on an attorney's faulty credentials, claiming she "poisoned" the proceedings.
Vital Imaging Diagnostic Centers recently alerted patients about the apparent cyberattack with an unauthorized party likely gaining access to private health information.
A new report reveals that states are keeping databases on “imposter nurses” to slow what could be a growing trend of unlicensed individuals holding nursing positions at hospitals nationwide.
Johnson & Johnson MedTech was already ordered to pay $442.2 million in damages for withholding clinical support to healthcare providers. Now the company has been hit with a permanent injunction designed to stop it from being a repeat offender.
Bloomberg said the pharmacy benefit manager is being probed as part of a larger look into the “prescription management services” of UnitedHealth. According to sources, this may be related to an ongoing investigation into alleged instances of Medicare Advantage upcoding.
"Today’s sentence sends a deterrent message to doctors and the healthcare industry," according to a DOJ statement. "If you abuse patient trust for profit, you will face justice."
The settlement reached in October 2024 has been finalized. A fund is being set up for the estimated 3 million claimants, as BCBS pledges to reform its BlueCard health plans.