From an ex-hospital CFO admitting his involvement in a kickback scheme to a physician being sentenced to seven years in prison for writing unlawful prescriptions, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Ex-hospital CFO, physicians guilty in $580M kickback scheme
The ex-CFO of the now-defunct Pacific Hospital in Long Beach, Calif., was among those who recently reached a plea agreement with prosecutors for his involvement in a fraud scheme that generated $580 million in false billings.
2. Novartis inks $390M deal to settle kickback allegations
Novartis AG, a Swiss drug company, entered into a $390 million settlement with the Department of Justice to settle allegations it paid kickbacks in the form of rebates to specialty pharmacies to increase prescriptions for its drugs.
3. 17 NJ hospitals sue state over Horizon BCBS tiered health plans
Seventeen New Jersey hospitals will file an appeal challenging Gov. Chris Christie's (R) administration's approval of a new set of discounted health plans by the state's largest health insurer, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.
4. 2 Mass. physicians agree to pay $445k for illegally charging opiate addiction patients
Two Massachusetts physicians agreed to pay a total of $445,720 for allegedly charging opiate addiction treatment patients cash for services that were already covered by Medicaid.
5. MD sentenced to 7 years for writing unlawful prescriptions
A suburban Detroit physician was sentenced to seven years in prison for writing roughly 80,000 unlawful prescriptions without medical justification, which were sold to street dealers.
6. West Virginia Medicaid program settles lawsuit over managed care contracts
A lawsuit filed against the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources by five West Virginia residents was settled, meaning sweeping change for Medicaid managed care in the state.
More articles on health law:
4 trends in healthcare litigation and thoughts on legal compliance
Blue Shield of California sues ex-executive who led public attack against it
7 latest False Claims Act settlements