December, 2016

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Florida Court Denies Motion to End Patient Wrongful Death Suit Despite Settlement

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 15, 2016, The Florida Supreme Court refused to dismiss a lawsuit over the death of an escaped psychiatric hospital patient for the second time. The suit questions the thin line between medical and ordinary negligence, even though the parties settled their dispute several months ago.

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Whistleblowing Doctor Agrees To Split Fees In $785M Pfizer FCA Deal

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 29, 2016, Dr. William LaCorte, M.D., a whistleblowing physician in Metairie, Louisiana, helped win a $785 million False Claims Act settlement with Pfizer, Inc., one of the World's largest pharmaceutical companies. Dr. LaCorte agreed with his former lawyers on a split of attorney's fees, which resolves one of the several disputes about paying multiple attorneys.

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DOJ Releases 2016 False Claims Act Recovery Statistics: Third Highest Annual Recovery Ever

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 14, 2016, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released its annual False Claims Act (FCA) recovery statistics. It revealed that the DOJ obtained more than $4.7 billion in settlements and judgments from civil cases involving fraud and false claims against the government in fiscal year 2016.

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21 Charged In Extensive Bribery Scheme At Dallas' Forest Park Medical Center

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 1, 2016, founders and investors of a physician-owned health care facility in Dallas, Texas, known as the Forest Park Medical Center, were charged in a bribery and kickback scheme. The range of felony offenses stem from their payment or receipt of roughly $40 million in bribes and kickbacks for referring patients to Forest Park Medical Center (FPMC), according to a federal indictment in Texa

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Optimizing Medical Waste Management: A Guide to Best Practices

Feeling overwhelmed by medical waste regulations? This comprehensive guide unravels the complexities of medical waste disposal, ensuring you stay compliant and prioritize safety. Inside you'll find: Clear categorization: Learn to precisely classify medical waste for proper handling and disposal. Labeling & Storage: Discover best practices for clear labeling and secure storage of medical waste.

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U.S. Enforcing Law For Equal Insurance Coverage For Mental and Physical Illnesses

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 27, 2016, President Obama made one more major health care initiative as his presidency comes to an end. The administration is stepping up enforcement of laws that require equal insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses. Officials are hoping this decision will help combat an opioid overdose epidemic.

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New York Optometrist Malpractice Suit for Patient's Brain Tumor Dismissed

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 23, 2016, a New York appeals court freed a Madison Avenue Eye Care Ltd. optometrist Paul Kantrowich from a malpractice suit. It was alleged in the suit that Kantrowich negligently failed to diagnose a patient's partial blindness caused by a brain tumor.

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Florida Orthopedic Center Pays Out Millions To End FCA Claims

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2016, Southeast Orthopedic Specialists (SOS), located in Jacksonville, Florida, agreed to pay $4,488 million to settle allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by allegedly billing federal health care programs for millions of dollars in unnecessary services.

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South Florida Hospital Agrees To Pay $12 Million To Settle FCA Claims

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 7, 2016, a Miami-area hospital will pay the federal government about $12 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by submitting false claims to federal health care programs for medically unnecessary cardiac procedures, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

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Are Caribbean Medical Schools Under Investigation for USMLE Irregularities?

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. Based on recent potential client consultations we are asking whether the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), perhaps acting through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), is investigating Caribbean medical schools such as Atlantic University School of Medicine, St.

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Forest Labs Agree to Pay $38 Million Settlement to End Whistle Blower’s FCA Suit

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 15, 2016, Forest Laboratories agreed to pay $38 million to resolve a whistle blower’s False Claims Act (FCA) suit involving allegations that it paid kickbacks to doctors who prescribed three of the company’s drugs, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced.

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HIPAA Compliance: Can Your Organization Avoid Costly Government Penalties and Fines?

Colington Consulting was established in 2013 and helps organizations achieve HIPAA compliance and ensures clients stay current with the latest enforcement trends. We provide a full range of HIPAA compliance services and consulting. What separates us from our competitors is our knowledge of HIPAA compliance regulations and their application to each of our client’s particular scenarios and requirements.

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Medicare Administrative Contractor and Other Contractors Continue to Penalize Medicare Providers Who Do Not Have Correct, Current Address Information on File; This Is One Thing You Absolutely Want to Check up On!

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law We continue to receive calls from physicians and other Medicare providers who have had their Medicare billing privileges revoked or terminated because their address information is not up to date or is incomplete. You must include a physical address at which your business operates so that if the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC), the Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC), or the Recovery Audit

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East Texas Lab Agrees to Pay $3.75 Million to Settle False Claims Suit

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 14, 2016, owners of an East Texas clinical laboratory who overcharged Medicare for falsified driving mileage bills have agreed to pay the US government $3.75 million to settle a whistle blower's False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit. The suit was brought by a former employee, the US attorney’s office announced.

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MetroHealth Medical Center's Former COO Charged In Dental Intricate Program Bribery Scheme

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 25, 2016, previous MetroHealth Medical Center Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Dental Director Edward Hills was charged for running a complex bribery and kickback scheme selling positions in the medical center's residency program. MetroHealth Medical Center is located in Cleveland, Ohio and is an integrated health system that sees around one million patients a year.According to an unsealed

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New Report Reveals Massive $2.4 Billion Marijuana Impact on Colorado Economy

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 27, 2016, the Marijuana Policy Project issued a report for 2015 stating that the state-legal medical marijuana industry had a $2.4 billion economic impact on the Colorado economy. The cannabis industry, the fastest-growing business sector in Colorado, is credited with funding 18,005 direct and ancillary full-time jobs in 2015, according to the report.

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The Big Payoff of Application Analytics

Outdated or absent analytics won’t cut it in today’s data-driven applications – not for your end users, your development team, or your business. That’s what drove the five companies in this e-book to change their approach to analytics. Download this e-book to learn about the unique problems each company faced and how they achieved huge returns beyond expectation by embedding analytics into applications.

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Guilty Pharmacist Admitted To $2.4 Million Prescription Fraud Scheme, Including Using Foreign Drugs

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Walter Beich, an Illinois pharmacist, pled guilty on November 17, 2016 to defrauding Medicare, Medicaid and several private insurers out of $2.4 million by submitting false reimbursement requests for prescriptions he had filled with counterfeit drugs or did not fill at all.

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News For Nursing Homes: Federal Government’s Attempt to Ban Nursing Home Arbitration Blocked

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 7, 2016, a Mississippi federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the federal government’s proposed ban on mandatory arbitration in cases involving nursing homes. The order from US District Judge Michael P. Mills granted a preliminary injunction sought by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and prevents the ban from taking effect on Nov. 28.

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New Jersey Woman Pleas Guilty to $1 Million DNA Testing Medicare Fraud Scheme.

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 1, 2016, Sheila Kahl pled guilty in a New Jersey federal court that she took part in a $1 million Medicare fraud scheme. Kahl admitted to two conspiracy charges deriving from a scheme involving a nonprofit organization that appeared to help seniors navigate through federal benefit programs.

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Legal Access to Marijuana Expands: California Legalizes Recreational Pot & Florida Legalizes Medical Marijuana

The Health Law Firm

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law After looking at the red and blue map of America from the recent presidential election, it may be time to add some green. On November 9, 2016, the movement to legalize marijuana, which has been in the public eye for some time now, took a giant step forward.

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Everything You Wanted to Know About FACIS, but Didn’t Know to Ask

Speaker: Amy Anderson

FACIS® helps organizations mitigate patient and organizational risk. Maintaining compliance and safeguarding against fraud and abuse in today’s changing healthcare landscape can be challenging. Most healthcare organizations screen and monitor providers against the OIG but that’s only ONE of FACIS®’ primary sources. FACIS® pulls data for every taxonomy from the lowest level employee to the highest level licensed professional.