FTC to Focus on Unsubstantiated Health Claims
January 30, 2019 | Steven Shapiro | FDA | Fraud and Abuse | Litigation | Pharmaceuticals

On January 28, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published on its Business Blog a post titled “Hey Nineteen: Nine FTC developments that could impact your business in 2019.” Of most importance to the healthcare industry is the FTC’s promise to focus on unsubstantiated health claims in advertising. The relevant paragraph of the post reads as

Read More
Walgreens Pays $269.2 Million to Settle Fraud Allegations
January 24, 2019 | Geoffrey R. Kaiser | False Claims Act | Fraud and Abuse | Litigation | Medicare and Medicaid | Pharmaceuticals

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., the operator of the Walgreens pharmacy chain, has agreed to pay $269.2 million in two settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve fraud allegations. The two cases arose from lawsuits filed by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act and were prosecuted federally by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern

Read More
Orthodontic Practice Pays $9 Million Settlement
January 23, 2019 | Eric D. Fader | Fraud and Abuse | Litigation | Medicare and Medicaid

On January 15, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that Diamond Braces, an orthodontic practice with 10 offices in the State of New York, has settled charges that it allowed uncertified employees to perform orthodontic procedures and then improperly billed the Medicaid program for the procedures. The settlement included $4.5 million in restitution for

Read More
FTC Investigations Could Bring Unwanted Scrutiny to Hospitals
January 18, 2019 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Affordable Care Act | Antitrust | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Litigation | Private Insurers

An article in Relias Media’s Healthcare Risk Management newsletter, “FTC Investigations Could Bring Unwanted Scrutiny to Hospitals,” discussed potential investigations of hospitals’ anti-competitive behavior by the Federal Trade Commission.  Rivkin Radler’s Robert H. Iseman was featured prominently in the article.

Bob noted that hospitals and health systems that are considered “must-have” participants in health insurance plans face

Read More
Rivkin Attorneys to Speak at “The Business of Medicine” Seminar
January 14, 2019 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Employer/Employee | Fraud and Abuse | HIPAA | Hospitals | Medicare and Medicaid

Rivkin Radler’s Jeffrey Rust and Eric Fader will be among the presenters at “The Business of Medicine,” a seminar to be held on Saturday, January 26, 2019, at the Convene conference center, 101 Park Avenue (at 41st Street), New York, New York. Neuro Alert Services LLC, a multistate provider of intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring services, designed

Read More
Outside Counsel Can Be the Right Choice, but Know When
January 9, 2019 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Employer/Employee | Hospitals | Litigation

An article in Relias Media’s Healthcare Risk Management, “Outside Counsel Can Be the Right Choice, but Know When,” discussed when and why it might be appropriate for healthcare organizations to use outside counsel. Rivkin Radler’s Jeffrey Rust was quoted extensively in the article.

Jeff noted that it is especially important to retain outside counsel in

Read More
Starting the New Year with Hospital Price Transparency
January 8, 2019 | Affordable Care Act | Hospitals | Legislation and Public Policy | Medicare and Medicaid

As of January 1, hospitals are now required to post charges for their standard items and procedures online in an effort to increase price transparency. Section 2718(e) of the Public Health Service Act, part of the Affordable Care Act, requires each hospital in the U.S. “for each year [to] establish (and update) and make public

Read More
OB/GYN Practice Liable to Patient for Breach of Confidentiality
January 7, 2019 | Eric D. Fader | HIPAA | Legislation and Public Policy | Litigation

A Connecticut state court ruled in December that an obstetrics and gynecology practice must pay a former patient close to $2 million, the latest round in an 11-year saga in which the case was appealed to the state Supreme Court twice. The defendant medical practice was found to have breached the confidentiality of the plaintiff’s

Read More
The False Claims Act: A Powerful Tool Against Federal Health Care Program Fraud
January 7, 2019 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | False Claims Act | Fraud and Abuse | Litigation | Medical Devices and Wearables | Medicare and Medicaid | Pharmaceuticals

Evan Krinick authored an article, “The False Claims Act: A Powerful Tool Against Federal Health Care Program Fraud,” that was published in the New York Law Journal.  The article discusses recent actions taken by U.S. Attorneys in New York against health care providers under the FCA.

Read More
HIPAA Clarity Coming for Coordinated Care
January 4, 2019 | Rivkin Rounds Staff | Electronic Health Records | HIPAA | Legislation and Public Policy

On December 12, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on how the HIPAA rules, especially the Privacy Rule, could be modified to promote coordinated, value-based healthcare. A January 1 article in Health Law360 entitled “Health Care Policy Moves To

Read More

Subscribe

* indicates required
Authors
show more

Get legal updates and news delivered to your inbox