Home health company VNS Health has agreed to pay nearly $1 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently billed Medicaid for Assertive Community Treatment Services that it failed to provide or document.

Beginning July 1, the cost of 64 prescription drugs will be reduced through Medicare Part B for some enrollees, the Biden administration announced June 26.

Two health plans filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Hartford (Conn.) HealthCare June 14, alleging unlawful monopolization and price fixing. The health plans allege Hartford's dominance in the area allowed the system to inflate prices.

The Supreme Court officially ruled in favor of permitting emergency abortions in Idaho to protect maternal health June 27, after a document leaked momentarily the day prior giving a public preview of the decision.

From Arkansas' attorney general filing a lawsuit against Optum Rx and Express Scripts to Sutter Health beating a whistleblower's double-billing allegations, here are 10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since June 17:

Two former owners of New York pharmacies who pleaded guilty to an $18 million healthcare fraud scheme were sentenced to 14 collective years in prison. 

The former owner of a hospice care company was sentenced to 72 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $3.6 million in restitution for her role in a healthcare fraud scheme. 

Houston-based Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine and Surgical Associates of Texas have jointly agreed to pay $15 million to resolve claims they billed for concurrent heart surgeries that violated CMS teaching physician and informed consent regulations.

Massachusetts lawmakers are taking aim at real estate investment trusts amid Dallas-based Steward Health Care's ongoing financial troubles. 

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a lawsuit June 24 against pharmacy benefit managers Optum Rx and Express Scripts for their alleged role in enabling the opioid epidemic in the state.

A Maine physician was found guilty on 15 counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances.

The Supreme Court has agreed to assess the constitutionality of Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for people younger than 18, The Washington Post reported June 24. 

Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health beat a whistleblower's lawsuit alleging that the health system owed $519 million for double-billing expensive operating room services without documentation, Law360 reported June 20. 

A Chicago-based healthcare company and its former owners agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Medicaid.

The CEO of medical device company Stimwave on June 17 was sentenced to six years in prison for helping create and sell fake components for chronic pain devices implanted in patients. 

A physician from Fredericksburg, Texas, was convicted by a jury for causing the submission of more than $70 million in fraudulent healthcare claims.

The Justice Department unsealed documents related to Eithan Haim, MD, who is accused of violating HIPAA by leaking internal documents from Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital concerning gender-affirming services.

Pharmacies with 25 or fewer full-time employees now have until late 2026 to fulfill requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act, according to the FDA. 

From the Supreme Court ruling in favor to the FDA to a judge ordering Prospect Medical to pay more than $17 million within 10 days, here are 10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since June 10:

Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings has come under fire for the alleged mismanagement of two of its safety-net hospitals in Providence, R.I.