A judge will soon rule on Hollister, Calif.-based Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital's Chapter 9 bankruptcy eligibility, the Hollister Free Lance reported Jan. 3. 

Dogwood Health Trust is searching for a new independent monitor to oversee HCA Healthcare's compliance with its 2019 asset purchase agreement to acquire Asheville, N.C.-based Mission Health.

On Jan. 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued a ruling stating that Texas hospitals and physicians are not obligated to perform emergency abortions under a decades-old federal law requiring hospitals to provide all patients appropriate emergency care. 

A Penn Medicine hospital was briefly placed in "immediate jeopardy" by state officials following the November death of a patient at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania-Cedar Avenue, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Jan. 1.

From a Maryland physician acquitted in an alleged $15 million fraud scheme to an Iowa pharmacy filing a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, here are 10 recent healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments Becker's has reported since Dec. 21: 

A Maryland physician was acquitted of a more than $15 million fraud scheme conviction after the court determined prosecution did not provide enough evidence that "ambiguous" CPT codes were being abused, law firm Husch Blackwell reported on JD Supra Dec. 29.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has vetoed House Bill 68 — the "Saving Ohio Adolescents from Experimentation" and "Save Women's Sports" acts — which would have limited minors from receiving gender-affirming care, along with mandating colleges establish single-sex sports teams.

Police are investigating at least one patient death at Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Ore., according to reports from the Rogue Valley Times and NBC affiliate KOBI-TV. 

Twin siblings who ran a Medicare billing company have been charged for their alleged role in a $25 million scheme involving fraudulent durable medical equipment claims. 

The judge overseeing a Florida civil case made famous by a Netflix documentary has issued an order for the examination of a juror's conduct during the eight-week trial, the Tampa Bay Times reported Dec. 22. 

Greenwich (Conn.) Hospital's lawsuit against the town's planning and zoning commission for rejecting the hospital's bid to develop a cancer care center has been dismissed by a state Supreme Court judge, the CT Insider reported Dec. 28.

 A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Idaho law banning gender-affirming care for minors, The New York Times reported Dec. 27.

An Oklahoma man was arrested Dec. 26 after phoning hospitals in Tennessee and Ohio with threats to commit violence, according to local news sources. 

From Community Health Network agreeing to a $345 million False Claims Act settlement to the sentencing of an orthopedic surgeon for his role in an upcoding scheme, here are 11 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's has reported since Dec. 12: 

Ballwin, Mo.-based Total Access Urgent Care will pay more than $9.1 million to settle allegations it submitted false claims to Medicare and other federal healthcare programs. 

Congress passed just 31 bills that became law in 2023, a record low in modern times, Spectrum News reported Dec. 21. 

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is settling a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to an EEOC Dec. 22 press release.

A third lawsuit has been filed related to the abrupt closure of Stone Academy, a for-profit nursing school based in Connecticut. Nine students filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 26 against state officials at the Office of Higher Education and the state Department of Public Health, which had oversight of the for-profit school while it was still operational, NBC Connecticut reported.

A second arrest warrant has been issued for Ammon Bundy, the former gubernatorial candidate and far-right public figure at the center of a legal battle with Boise-based St. Luke's Health System. 

The former CEO of Apache Behavioral Health Services in Whiteriver and Cibecue, Ariz., has been charged in a scheme to defraud millions of dollars from the federally funded tribal healthcare provider.