Inform Diagnostics, a Texas-based pathology laboratory company, will pay the federal government $63.5 million to resolve allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act (FCA). The U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement on January 30.

Inform Diagnostics was alleged to have engaged in improper financial relationships with physicians, including providing them with subsidies

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

On December 4, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the settlement of a complaint against Nobetes Corporation, which marketed and sold a pill that supposedly treats diabetes. The FTC complaint had alleged that the company made false or unsubstantiated health claims, engaged in illegal billing practices, and used deceptive endorsements in the marketing and sale

On November 30, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Gilead Sciences, Inc. from a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision which had revived a declined False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit brought by two former