Legal News

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.

DOJ announces 324 arrests in $14.6B healthcare fraud crackdown
Of those arrested, 96 are doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers. All face charges related to telehealth prescriptions, illegal opioid distribution and fraudulent billing practices.
4 cybersecurity best practices for radiology groups
Digitization of exams has made the imaging industry a “prime target” for cybercriminals, experts wrote recently in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
Radiologists will pay $810,000 to settle allegations they performed hundreds of unnecessary procedures
Oscar Sosa, MD, and Osmany DeAngelo, DO, vehemently deny the allegations but chose to settle to avoid costly and protracted litigation.
Caremark dealt a $95 million blow for violating the False Claims Act
In a decision issued Wednesday, a judge ruled that Caremark had persuaded insurers to intentionally mislead the government regarding prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries.
All 50 states agree to $7.4B opioid crisis settlement
The legal case brought by all 50 states, Washington D.C., and multiple U.S. territories against Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family has come to an end, with settlement funds set to be used for addiction recovery.

Texas AG sues hospital for $10K after off-duty police barred from carrying guns

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claims Memorial Hermann Health System violated a state law that authorizes any establishment serving the public to allow police officers to carry firearms, even if they’re dressed in civilian clothing.

PBMs sue FTC for alleged Fifth Amendment violation

Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx claim the FTC’s internal administrative court is unconstitutional. The agency sued the PBMs in September, claiming they engage in collusive business practices.

Asante Medical facing $488M in lawsuits after fentanyl diversion linked to 16 deaths

The nurse responsible has been charged with 44 counts of second-degree assault. Her criminal trial begins Dec. 30.

Trump selects Emmy-winning TV personality Dr. Oz to head CMS

President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of former "Dr. Oz Show" star Mehmet Oz just days after appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of health.

Healthcare hacker sentenced to 10 years in prison

Robert Purbeck, 45, of Georgia was found with data on more than 132,000 individuals taken from various breaches, including multiple providers, a police station and a city government.

Public health contrarian RFK Jr. nominated to HHS secretary

President-elect Donald Trump said he will let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “go wild for a little while” if his appointment is confirmed by the Senate.

Medtronic sued by doctor for alleged patent infringement

Shirin Towfigh, MD, and her consultancy firm, Hexagon Health, claim Medtronic is selling patented surgical mesh with a novel fin-shaped design.

UnitedHealth defends $3.3B Amedisys acquisition

UnitedHealth subsidiary Optum is turning to the court of public opinion to defend the merger.

Legal News

DOJ announces 324 arrests in $14.6B healthcare fraud crackdown

4 cybersecurity best practices for radiology groups

Radiologists will pay $810,000 to settle allegations they performed hundreds of unnecessary procedures

Caremark dealt a $95 million blow for violating the False Claims Act

All 50 states agree to $7.4B opioid crisis settlement