From Tenet Healthcare agreeing to pay $66 million to resolve a kickback lawsuit to NCH Healthcare System suing Leapfrog over a patient safety grade, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Typo in regulation costs Kansas hospital $600K
Via Christi Hospital in Wichita, Kan., is out nearly $600,000 for the cost of treating a patient after the state's supreme court held Nov. 1 that a typo in Kansas' workers' compensation medical fee schedule is to be considered the "plain language" of the regulation.
2. Mass General, Northwell Health pay millions to settle concurrent surgery suits
Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health agreed to pay millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits related to the practice of double-booking surgeries.
3. NCH Healthcare sues Leapfrog over 'D' grade
Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare System is suing Leapfrog Group after the company gave the healthcare system a "D" for patient safety.
4. Tenet agrees to pay $66M to resolve kickback lawsuit
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare tentatively agreed to pay $66 million to resolve a qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit dating back to 2016.
5. Kaiser can't stop Hawaii health system from balance billing
A federal court dismissed a lawsuit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan filed against Honolulu-based Queen's Health Systems after a contract between the parties expired May 30.
6. Judge invalidates conscience protection rule for healthcare workers
A federal judge found the Trump administration's "conscience protection rule" unconstitutional, saving hospitals billions in potential funding cuts and the burden of navigating the rule's overlap with existing laws to prevent patient dumping.
7. Ex-CMO sues Wyoming hospital for $38M, says he was forced to resign for reporting substandard care
The former CMO of Ivinson Memorial Hospital is suing the Laramie, Wyo.-based hospital and its affiliated governmental entities for $38 million.
8. Physician group claims West Virginia hospital owes $590K for ED services
Huntington, W.Va.-based Ohio Valley Physicians filed a lawsuit against Williamson (W.Va.) Memorial Hospital claiming it's owed $590,575 for emergency department services provided by its physicians.
9. Colorado hospital workers sue for alleged unpaid, off-the-clock work
Delta County (Colo.) Memorial Hospital District faces a federal lawsuit for alleged failure to compensate off-the-clock work performed by hourly staff.
10. Trump administration sues Gilead
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against Gilead Nov. 6, accusing the drugmaker of making billions of dollars from taxpayer-funded research without paying taxpayers back.
11. Judge blocks health insurance requirement for immigrant-visa applicants
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon of Oregon temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule that sought to deny immigrant visas to people without health insurance or the financial resources to pay for care out of pocket.
12. 5 Montana hospitals settle lawsuit alleging they swapped $26M from insurer for inflated employee premiums
Five Montana hospitals agreed to pay $6.9 million to employees to settle allegations that they made a deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield that boosted employee health plan prices in exchange for $26 million.
13. Sanofi to pay $315M to settle claims it purposefully slowed MS drug development
Sanofi agreed to pay $315 million to settle claims that it slowed the development of a multiple sclerosis drug to avoid paying investors after the company acquired Genzyme Corp.
14. Oklahoma hospital failed to make 'in-kind' payments instead of property taxes, lawsuit says
Saint Francis Hospital Muskogee (Okla.) and the hospital's former operator are facing allegations they failed to make "in-kind" payments that are mandated in the hospital lease agreement in exchange for not paying property taxes.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
Ex-CEO sentenced to prison in billing fraud case involving California clinics
Former executive of Cleveland Clinic spinoff defrauded system of $2.7M
Dignity Health's $100M class-action settlement is unreasonable, judge says