The Fair Political Practices Commission has rejected a union's complaint that alleges Bakersfield, Calif.-based Kern County Hospital Authority overpaid its executives through their own private consulting firms.

A group of federal lawmakers, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have introduced legislation they say would eliminate all $220 billion in medical debt held by Americans. 

The owner and sole physician of a medical clinic in Bellflower, Calif., pleaded guilty to a scheme that submitted more than $4.6 million in fraudulent claims to Medi-Cal. 

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody and the Catholic Medical Association sued the Biden administration May 6 over a new rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act that the administration says advances protections against discrimination in healthcare.

A Florida lab owner was sentenced to 10 years in prison for three fraud schemes, including a conspiracy involving $25 million in fraudulent Medicare claims submitted by Ellwood City (Pa.) Medical Center. 

A Missouri man is facing a second-degree murder charge after police say he allegedly strangled his wife in her hospital bed at HCA Midwest Health's Centerpoint Medical Center, the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office said May 4.

A New Jersey physician was sentenced to 26 months in prison for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme that targeted Amtrak. 

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Baptist Health has agreed to pay $1.5 million to address accusations of breaching the False Claims Act. 

Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health is suing Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings, from whom it is attempting to acquire three Connecticut hospitals, as it seeks to get out of the deal, CT Mirror reported May 3.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is calling on the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate potentially anticompetitive conduct by data analytics firm MultiPlan.

Heather Pressdee, a Pennsylvania nurse, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and 19 counts of attempted homicide, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported May 1.

An attorney who worked as a vice president and COO of an Illinois hospital and pleaded guilty to a federal mail fraud charge has been sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison.

Johnson & Johnson plans to settle 99.75% of claims alleging its talc-based baby powder products led to ovarian cancer, the company said May 1. 

From the conviction of a New Jersey physician for submitting more than $5.4 million in fraudulent claims to the indictment of a Mississippi man for his role in a $70 million Medicare fraud scheme, here are 11 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's reported since April 9:   

For $1.1 billion, Philips Respironics will settle personal injury and medical monitoring lawsuits related to the safety of its continuous positive airway pressure machines and respirators. 

Data analytics firm MultiPlan is facing another lawsuit alleging that it conspired with major payers to underpay providers by tens of billions annually.

A New Jersey physician was convicted for submitting more than $5.4 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare as part of a telemarketing scheme. 

From a judge ruling that Tenet must face a class-action lawsuit, to the California Hospital Association alleging Anthem Blue Cross of California violated the state's patient safety laws, here are 10 lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since April 17: 

The rate of maternal mortality in the United States is, on average, three times higher than that of other highly developed nations. And, if current trends continue, the rate will only get worse.

West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health successfully defended against a proposed class-action lawsuit that claimed it disclosed patients' personal health information with third parties.