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.
Anthem defended the policy in response to the lawsuit, contending patients shouldn’t have to worry about surprise medical bills when visiting in-network hospitals.
Boca Raton Rehabilitation Center called claims made in the lawsuit by a former employee, Nuella Joseph, “unsubstantiated.” Joseph, a nurse, said the facility has a cleanliness problem that led to bug infestations in resident rooms.
Federal authorities said the shift to regional “Strike Force” models has proven successful, with 6,200 defendants prosecuted nationwide. The DOJ said this latest unit will take a special interest in Northern California.
About 38% of rads surveyed said they had defended against at least one lawsuit, with such specialists at a higher risk than others in internal medicine.
Faranak Firozan, 47, is a cybersecurity expert at Nvidia who regularly spoke on the topic of “cyber laundering.” Prosecutors in California allege she submitted fraudulent medical claims to an employer-sponsored insurance plan, bilking Cigna out of $100,000.
Sixty-one-year-old Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian, MD, is on the run after being convicted of fraudulently billing Medicare alongside co-conspirators at home health agencies. A federal court in California sentenced her to 54 months in prison.
Dr. Prateek Joshi, with the NHS hospital in Derby, England, was taking his wife, also a highly regarded physician, and three young children from India to the U.K. to start a new chapter.
The doctor is accused of using fake credentials for several months and performing approximately 50 procedures. This is the second time in recent months someone has been accused of impersonating a heart specialist and treating patients.
The insurer alleges The Guardian misrepresented the facts in a May 21 exposé that accused the insurer of pressuring nursing homes to delay and deny hospital transfers.
Evoke Health Care Management was accused of disseminating over 68,500 illegal ads that linked to a marketing call center, rather than actual addiction treatment services.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association—a trade lobby representing pharmacy benefit managers—argues a state law that would force companies to divest from drugstores could leave patients without access to critical medications.