A lawsuit has been filed against Klamath Falls, Ore.-based Sky Lakes Medical Center alleging the hospital violated charity care requirements, The Lund Report reported Nov. 28. 

Optum added nearly 20,000 physicians in 2023, Optum Health CEO Amar Desai, MD, said. 

A Georgia Senate committee made up of lawmakers, healthcare executives and an insurance industry representative voted 6 to 3 recommending a repeal of certificate of need laws, The Augusta Chronicle reported Nov. 28.

CVS Health is suing the United States, alleging the government owes it more than $400 million in tax deductions. 

A physician and his wife have pleaded guilty to their roles in a genetic testing kickback and bribery scheme. 

A Virginia-based nurse practitioner pleaded guilty for her role in a $7.8 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.

Healthcare has long been a favored target of philanthropists, and in most cases, the process is smooth; a new hospital wing is built and named in honor of the donor. However, with millions of dollars changing hands, sometimes donations aren't as simple as signing a check. 

A Nebraska pharmacist pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud, and a federal court ordered her to pay more than $573,000 in restitution. 

The Wisconsin pharmacy board is investigating a hospital pharmacist's license after a federal court charged him for animal cruelty related to research, ABC affiliate WKOW 27 reported Nov. 22. 

A New York physician was convicted of multiple charges in a kickback scheme that subjected Medicaid patients to unnecessary radiological tests. 

Covina, Calif.-based Emanate Health is accusing UnitedHealth Group's Optum of pressuring the system not to compete with Optum in the primary care business, and of steering patients away from their physicians who left Optum to join Emanate's practices. 

Lawyers for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital filed for a retrial on Nov. 22 against a $261 million verdict in a case made famous by a Netflix documentary, alleging that the jury foreman violated stringent conduct rules during the trial, Tampa Bay Times reported Nov. 23. 

The motive behind the shooting that killed a New Hampshire hospital security guard Nov. 17 remains unknown days after the police identified the suspect, CBS News reports. 

McLeod Health, based in Florence, S.C., has agreed to a $600,000 settlement in a lawsuit brought by employees who claimed that the network deducted pay for meal breaks they were unable to take due to a heavy workload.

From two pharmacy owners and a physician convicted in a $145 million scheme to two NBA convicted for their roles in a scheme to defraud the league's healthcare plan, here are 10 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's has reported on since Oct. 31: 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed suit against Pfizer's drug distributor Tris Phar­ma, alleging it exaggerated the efficacy of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder medication to the state's Medicaid program. 

A lawyer for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital called the $261 million verdict against it in a case made famous by a Netflix documentary a "mess" in asking for a new trial.

U.S. Anesthesia Partners, a private equity-backed group affiliated with more than 4,500 physicians, has filed a motion to dismiss the Federal Trade Commission's civil complaint alleging that certain USAP business practices violate U.S. competition laws.

Two Dallas physicians were charged with submitting $50 million in fraudulent claims to payers for corticosteroid injections and other services that were not performed and unlawfully distributing hydrocodone. 

A U.S. district judge has rejected West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health's motion to dismiss an antitrust case filed last year by CarePoint Health, which operates three safety-net hospitals that recently transitioned to nonprofit status.