CMS is auditing vertically integrated Medicare Part D sponsors, including pharmacy benefit managers and payers, according to HHS' Office of Inspector General.

Winston-Salem, N.C.,-based Novant Health has fired back against a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit that aims to prevent the health system's acquisition of two hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems. 

A nearly 40-year old federal law requires Medicare hospitals to provide all patients experiencing a medical emergency a medical screening and stabilizing care. Whether that includes abortion has been at the center of several lawsuits in states with strict abortion bans. 

Conrado Bárzaga, MD, former CEO of Palm Springs, Calif.-based Desert Healthcare District & Foundation, has filed a claim alleging wrongful termination, the Desert Sun reported April 18.

A federal judge in Colorado ruled against Aurora-based Children's Hospital Colorado's challenge of a new Defense Department rule it said would cost the hospital millions of dollars, Colorado Politics reported April 18. 

The manager of medical clinics in New York City was resentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay $39 million in restitution for his role in a healthcare fraud scheme and tax avoidance conspiracy. 

HHS Inspector General Christi Grimm said her office has a "pressing need" for more funding to combat healthcare fraud, waste and abuse. 

North Carolina Treasurer Dale Folwell has backed the Federal Trade Commission's bid to block Novant Health's proposed acquisition of two hospitals from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra told a Senate panel that rural health outcomes would improve if more states expanded Medicaid, The Hill reported April 16. 

UnitedHealth Group on April 16 held its first earnings call since it reported the cyberattack of its Change Healthcare subsidiary. On the call, CEO Andrew Witty called Change an important acquisition for the company, adding "I think [it's] important for the country that we own Change Healthcare."

A federal lawsuit filed against Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health alleges the health system shared patient information with Facebook and Google, The Charlotte Observer reported April 15. 

A former director at Doylestown (Pa.) Hospital on April 15 pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $600,000 from a hospital charity account, according to ABC affiliate WPVI.

A jury convicted an anesthesiologist for injecting dangerous drugs into IV bags, causing one death and numerous injuries, the Justice Department said April 12.

A Mississippi man faces up to 25 years in prison for his alleged role in a Medicare fraud scheme exceeding $70 million. 

The owner and the medical director of a Kentucky pain clinic were sentenced for their roles in a $4 million urine drug testing fraud scheme. 

The CEO of biotech company Decision Diagnostics Corp., Keith Berman, was sentenced to seven years in prison for a securities fraud scheme that resulted in about $28 million in investor losses and obstruction of a related U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.

The U.S. filed a lawsuit against Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, alleging the New York-based drugmaker of inflating Medicare reimbursement rates for Eylea, the Justice Department said. 

The National Labor Relations Board has issued a formal complaint against St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, Mass., indicting it on multiple charges related to nurse management and staffing concerns. 

The Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act intends to address workforce shortages across the country by better supporting internationally educated healthcare professionals. 

An Iowa advanced registered nurse practitioner is accused of prescribing $1 million worth of unneeded medical devices to Medicare patients, ABC affiliate KCCI reported April 9.