Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a directive June 11 that hospitals are legally required to provide abortions in emergency cases. 

A former physician who owned three clinics in Alabama and her wife pleaded guilty to their roles in a $2.3 million scheme. 

Inspire Health Medical Group has agreed to pay a $1.2 million settlement to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Calif., after neurosurgeons allegedly planned a walkout in 2021 and gave the system less than 32 hours' notice. 

A North Carolina federal judge denied the Federal Trade Commission's request to bar Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health from acquiring two North Carolina hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems until its appeal is resolved.

Massachusetts Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have introduced the Corporate Crimes Against Health Care Act of 2024 in an attempt to remove "corporate greed and private equity abuse" in healthcare.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a proposed rule that it said would eliminate as much as $49 billion of medical debts that "unjustly lowers credit scores for 15 million Americans."

Surgeon Eithan Haim, MD, is being charged with four counts of criminal HIPAA violations after he leaked internal documents from Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital regarding gender-affirming services, Houston Public Media reported June 10. 

The Federal Trade Commission is asking for an immediate order to block Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health from acquiring two North Carolina hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems until the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals can rule on its appeal. 

CityMD agreed to pay the federal government $12 million to settle fraud allegations related to COVID-19 tests, according to the Justice Department.

A lab owner from Morton Grove, Ill. is accused of submitting more than $60 million in false claims to Medicare as part of COVID-19 testing fraud scheme, the Chicago Tribune reported June 7. 

A California sleep clinic owner was sentenced to 46 months in prison for submitting more than $1.5 million fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medi-Cal. 

From a judge denying the FTC's attempt to block a two-hospital deal in North Carolina to two former high-ranking employees filing a False Claims Act complaint against Erlanger Health System, here are 12 lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since May 28. 

Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings is suing Yale New Haven Health, demanding that the Connecticut health system honor its contractual obligations to acquire Eastern Connecticut Health Network and Waterbury Hospital.

A majority panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reversed a 2022 jury verdict in favor of Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health in a class action alleging the health system used its market power to charge supracompetitive rates to major insurers, which resulted in higher premiums for members, according to court documents accessed by Becker's. 

A federal judge has rejected the Federal Trade Commission's request for a preliminary injunction to bar Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health from its $320 million acquisition of two North Carolina hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

Portland, Ore.-based Legacy Health will pay an undisclosed amount to settle a lawsuit with parents of a burn victim from an apartment fire, The Oregonian reported June 4.  

From a Massachussettes hospital settling allegations it knowingly billed for procedures that didn't follow Medicare rules to the conviction of a Texas physician in a $70 million scheme, here are 10 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's has reported since May 10:

The manufacturer of Ozempic and Wegovy filed nine additional lawsuits against businesses in six states that allegedly sold unapproved compounded versions of the popular drugs. 

The former CEO of Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital has admitted stealing hospital funds for personal use and without authorization, according to the Justice Department.

Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, Calif., has been cited for immediate jeopardy by CMS, the California Department of Public Health confirmed to Becker's May 30.