A Texas judge has granted a temporary injunction against a transplant surgeon at Houston-based Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center accused of altering patient records, potentially preventing some patients from receiving lifesaving care, the Houston Chronicle reported May 20.

CMS will now allow patients to directly file Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act complaints with the federal government.

A New Orleans hospice owner was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a federal jury found him guilty for orchestrating a scheme that billed Medicare for $84 million in fraudulent claims. 

The Maryland Department of Health and Laura Herrera Scott, MD, the state's secretary of health, are being sued by nursing home residents who say their care has been affected by lack of state inspections, dangerous conditions and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, The Washington Post reported May 17.

Alabama passed a law that prohibits the state's board of medical examiners and medical licensure commission from taking adverse action against physicians who prescribe or recommend off-label medical treatments, the Alabama Reflector reported May 20.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation has agreed to pay the U.S. $7.6 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the Justice Department announced May 17.

Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass., will pay $24.3 million to settle claims that it knowingly billed Medicare for cardiac procedures that didn't follow Medicare rules.

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador has completed his investigation into potential breaches of Idaho's antitrust regulations involving Coeur d'Alene, Idaho-based Kootenai Health and Grangeville, Idaho-based Syringa Hospital and Clinics.

The Justice Department on May 16 issued a proposed rule to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III controlled substance, emphasizing its currently accepted medical uses. 

Louisiana lawmakers have unanimously approved a bill restricting physician noncompete agreements. The legislation heads to Gov. Jeff Landry's desk to be vetoed or signed into law, nola.com reported May 15. 

The Connecticut Hospital Association filed a lawsuit against Prospect Medical Holdings May 14, claiming the 16-hospital system owes $1.75 million in unpaid membership dues and service fees, according to the Hartford Business Journal.

A recently unsealed federal lawsuit is accusing Chillicothe, Ohio-based Adena Health System of performing unnecessary heart surgeries and filing false claims.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services does not have the authority to open an investigation into Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System and its president and CEO Damond Boatwright after two of its Wisconsin hospitals, Chippewa Falls, Wis.-based St. Joseph's Hospital and Eau Claire, Wis.-based Sacred Heart Hospital closed March 22.

A Michigan physician was convicted of one count of healthcare fraud and five counts of false statements relating to healthcare matters for her role in a $6.3 million Medicare fraud scheme. 

A bill traveling through the Louisiana legislature is seeking to outlaw possession of unprescribed, FDA-approved abortion pills. If the bill passes, the state will be the first to classify medication abortion as controlled dangerous substances. 

A former executive at Loretto Hospital in Chicago faces federal charges alleging she helped embezzle nearly $500,000 from the facility amid the COVID-19 crisis, the Chicago Tribune reported May 13. 

A free speech rights lawsuit filed against Escondido, Calif.-based Palomar Health was dismissed by a federal judge due to the case not having legal standing, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported May 13. 

A North Carolina administrative judge has upheld the state's decision to award Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based AdventHealth a certificate of need to build a hospital with at least 67 beds in Buncombe County.

The former owner of a Massachusetts pharmacy was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison for his role in the fatal 2012 meningitis outbreak that stemmed from unsterile medications compounded at his lab. 

From UPMC settling a whistleblower lawsuit to MultiPlan facing multiple suits over alleged price-fixing, here are 10 lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since April 29.