From parents suing the New York City Department of Health over mandatory measles vaccines to a California health system agreeing to pay $30 million to settle upcoding allegations, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. 53 medical professionals charged in sweeping opioid takedown
Dozens of medical professionals in seven states, including 31 physicians, eight nurse practitioners, seven pharmacists and seven other medical workers, are charged with participating in the unlawful prescribing of more than 32 million pain pills.
2. Maryland medical group settles false billing allegations
Cardiac Associates, a medical group with four offices in Maryland, agreed to pay $399,230 to settle false billing allegations.
3. HHS hit with class-action complaint over suspended Medicare payments
A now-shuttered home health company based in Chicago filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court against HHS and AdvanceMed, a Medicare contractor.
4. Judge orders Illinois hospital to restore services or face fines
A Cook County Circuit Court judge ordered Los Angeles-based Pipeline Health to restore services at Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park, Ill., by April 18 or face a fine of $200,000 a day.
5. Sutter Health enters $30M settlement over upcoding allegations
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health agreed to pay $30 million to resolve allegations that several of its affiliates submitted diagnosis codes for certain Medicare Advantage beneficiaries that inflated their risk scores and resulted in overpayments.
6. Nebraska children's hospital CEO named in more than a dozen lawsuits
Richard Azizkhan, MD, CEO of Omaha, Neb.-based Children's Hospital & Medical Center, was named in more than a dozen lawsuits related to his time at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. In an unrelated case filed in January, Dr. Azizkhan and Omaha Children's are accused of suspending two surgeons' privileges after they raised concerns about another surgeon.
7. UHS can't dodge claims it held patients illegally, investors say
Shareholders who have been in a legal fight with Universal Health Services since 2017 have argued the King of Prussia, Pa.-based hospital operator can't dismiss claims it fueled revenues by exaggerating patients' risk of suicide and involuntarily committing them to its psychiatric hospitals.
8. Ex-physician assistant gets prison time for role in $1B healthcare fraud scheme
A Florida federal judge sentenced Arnaldo Carmouze, a former physician assistant, to 80 months in prison for his role in a $1 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme.
9. AtlantiCare fired paramedic for respecting patient's decision to refuse treatment, lawsuit claims
A lawsuit filed against Atlantic City, N.J.-based AtlantiCare claims former paramedic Michael Senisch was wrongfully terminated after honoring a patient's wishes to refuse recommended medical treatment.
10. Ocular telemedicine company sues Indiana over prohibition of at-home vision tests
Visibly, an eye care telemedicine company, filed a lawsuit against Indiana agencies that enforce the statewide ban on ocular telemedicine.
11. Parents sue NYC over mandatory measles vaccinations
Five parents anonymously filed a lawsuit April 15 against the New York City Department of Health over the city's decision to make measles vaccinations mandatory for some zip codes.
12. Vermont pharmacy sues insurer over prescriptions steered to mail order
Rutland Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy in Vermont, is suing a New York insurer, MVP Health Care, for pushing its customers to use a mail order pharmacy to fill prescriptions.
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