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.

HHS sued over RFK’s $11B cuts to infectious disease control
The Department of Health and Human Services is refusing to allocate funds meant to support state and local healthcare initiatives, as the money stemmed from now-defunct COVID-19 control efforts. A coalition of municipalities is suing to lift the block.
Mangione enters plea of 'not guilty' as federal trial moves forward
Luigi Mangione has officially entered a plea in the indictment against him for the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The federal case is now expected to move forward before the overlapping state murder trial, as the Department of Justice is seeking the death penalty.
Gov. DeSantis accused of diverting $10M in Medicaid funds to charity run by wife
The Florida governor claims the money was not part of a settlement the state made with Centene, and that the insurer donated the cash as a “cherry on top.”
Owner of home healthcare company gets 14 months for defrauding COVID programs
Nakita Cannady, 49, was also convicted of defrauding Cigna to the tune of $194,000, billing the insurer for patient care hours her providers never filled.
Supreme Court likely to uphold ACA preventive care provision, analysts say
According to multiple reports, the majority of justices appeared to be leaning toward siding with the government, which argues that members of HHS's Preventive Services Task Force have the legal authority under the Constitution to determine which treatments are covered as 'preventive' under the Affordable Care Act.

Optum settles improper opioid prescription accusations for $20M

The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary has not admitted any wrongdoing but said it has improved protocols for monitoring controlled substances.

Former Microsoft employee arrested for stealing 1.2M patient records

A former employee at Nuance Communications, a Microsoft subsidiary, stands accused of taking patient data from Geisinger Health system shortly after their termination.

Steward Health Care deployed spy outfits to thwart critics

The failing health system allegedly hired intelligence firms that put a tracking device on a car, accessed a personal smartphone to find lurid information on an executive and attempted to frame a politician for bribery.

DOJ arrests 193 during nationwide crackdown on $2.75B in healthcare scams

The arrests include doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals accused of various schemes to defraud patients, insurers and Medicare.

Federal judge strikes down HHS ban on tracking cookies

Providers argued the HHS overstepped its regulatory authority. A federal court in Texas agreed.

Hospital staffer awarded $10M in discrimination, defamation lawsuit

The lawsuit claimed Stanford Health Care had a systemic pattern of racism, including a staffer dressing as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

Tesla-crashing radiologist probably headed for therapy rather than incarceration

The radiologist accused of deliberately driving himself and his family over a rocky California cliff in a Tesla won’t be going to trial.

cleveland clinic settles for failing to disclose research funding

Adventist Health settles with DoJ over sharing patient data with police

Staff at the health system shared protected medical information with law enforcement, resulting in the arrest of two women.

Legal News

HHS sued over RFK’s $11B cuts to infectious disease control

Mangione enters plea of 'not guilty' as federal trial moves forward

Gov. DeSantis accused of diverting $10M in Medicaid funds to charity run by wife

Owner of home healthcare company gets 14 months for defrauding COVID programs

Supreme Court likely to uphold ACA preventive care provision, analysts say