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 announced the judgment, which was issued against two facilities in Pennsylvania. The nursing homes fraudulently billed Medicare and Medicaid for working hours despite staff not being on the floor.
In court documents, an unnamed Minnesota woman said that in 2022, she was admitted to an Allina Health hospital and scheduled for the removal of her infected spleen, only for an error to result in her left kidney being removed instead.
Community Health System and Physician Network Advantage, an affiliated technology consultancy firm, were accused of bribing physicians for patient referrals in the form of paid vacations, expensive gifts and business meetings held at strip clubs.
The company told Cardiovascular Business it respectfully disagrees with the jury's decision and is evaluating all possible legal options going forward. The Association of Medical Device Reprocessors, meanwhile, celebrated the news.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reports that UnitedHealth Group is being investigated for criminal fraud, likely stemming from its Medicare Advantage billing practices.
The Washington cardiologist, who also served as a colonel in the U.S. Army, will be sentenced in November. Prosecutors and his defense team have recommended he receive 31 months in prison.
The 2016 payout totaled $770 million, with $71 million going to executives at Steward Health Care. That year, the hospital chain reported a net loss of $300 million.
Baltimore sued eight companies that it claimed profited off the city’s opioid epidemic. To date, the government has received $402.5 million in settlements.
The 55-year-old was found guilty of the same crime in 2016, but only received probation. This time, he is headed to prison and was forced to surrender his medical license.
A group of 95 women sued the university’s fertility clinic for failing to secure controlled substances, resulting in them having to endure egg extractions without pain relief.