From a judge ordering Cigna to pay a physician-owned hospital $13 million to a New Jersey hospital agreeing to pay $450,000 to resolve false claims allegations, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Mississippi health system to pay $150M over failed pension plan
Pascagoula, Miss.-based Singing River Health System entered into a federal settlement that releases it from liability over its failed pension plan.
2. Lee Memorial wants to evict another patient
Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers, Fla., is suing to evict a patient with dementia and Parkinson's disease who has remained at the Fort Myers, Fla.-based hospital for nearly three months after physicians cleared him to leave.
3. Officer accused of pepper spraying restrained patient at Seattle hospital pleads not guilty
Nicholas Hogan, 35, pleaded not guilty to a criminal civil rights violation for allegedly pepper spraying a restrained patient at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
4. BCBS of North Carolina sues feds over $147M in ACA payments
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is suing the federal government, claiming the U.S. failed to pay the insurer $147 million in payments owed under the Affordable Care Act's risk corridor program.
5. Cigna ordered to pay $13M to physician-owned hospital
A Texas federal judge ordered Cigna to pay more than $13 million to Humble (Texas) Surgical Hospital, concluding that the Bloomfield, Conn.-based insurer breached the terms of its policies by refusing to cover out-of-network services provided by the physician-owned facility.
6. Patient claims self defense in choking, death of roommate at Mount Sinai in Miami Beach
Andre Brown, 23, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his roommate at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Fla.
7. Physician gets prison time for writing Oxycodone prescriptions to drug dealer
John Terry, MD, of Wellsboro, Pa., was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for writing fraudulent prescriptions for Oxycodone.
8. Investigation into Cooper Health CEO's death linked to criminal charge against his son
Nearly two years after they were found unresponsive in their home, questions remain regarding the deaths of John Sheridan, president and CEO of Cooper University Health System in Camden, N.J., and his wife Joyce. The investigation is now at the center of a criminal case against the Sheridans' 42-year-old son Matthew.
9. NJ hospital to pay $450k for allegedly billing Medicare for unnecessary heart procedures
Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark, N.J., agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve false claims allegations.
10. Dermatologist sues Anthem Blue Cross for 'unethical' narrow network
A dermatologist from Los Angeles is bringing Anthem Blue Cross to court over its narrow networks for plans sold on Covered California — the state's Affordable Care Act exchange.
11. Romania charges 77 physicians for taking bribes
Dozens of Romanian physicians were charged with taking bribes after a pharmaceutical company paid for their vacations in India in exchange for promoting anti-cancer medications to patients.
12. Consulting firm president gets 5-year prison term for role in kickback scheme
Carlos Rodriguez Nerey, owner and president of a Miami-area consulting and staffing company, was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a $2.3 million Medicare fraud scheme.
13. Washington, California file suit against Johnson & Johnson over vaginal mesh implants
The attorneys general of Washington state and California filed lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, claiming the healthcare giant misinterpreted the severe risks of vaginal mesh implants for years.
14. Judge orders Washington Medicaid to cover lifesaving hepatitis C drugs for all
A federal judge ordered Washington state's Medicaid provider to cover expensive drugs that can cure hepatitis C infections for all patients with the liver-destroying disease, not just the sickest.
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15 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements