From a federal judge shutting down a health insurance company to a health system accused of overbilling Medicare patients, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. FTC: Florida company made $100M selling fake insurance
A federal judge temporarily shut down Miami-based Simple Health Plans at the request of the Federal Trade Commission.
2. Judge sets deadline for HHS to clear Medicare appeals backlog
A federal judge ordered HHS to clear its backlog of more than 400,000 Medicare reimbursement appeals from hospitals by the end of fiscal year 2022.
3. Mental health patients win patient dumping suit against Nevada psych hospital
A Las Vegas jury awarded James Flavy Coy Brown $250,000 as part of a class-action lawsuit against a state-run psychiatric hospital in Nevada that bused mental health patients out of state without providing proper care or discharge planning.
4. PeaceHealth accused of overbilling Medicare patients
An Oregon man filed a lawsuit against Vancouver, Wash.-based PeaceHealth, alleging the health system secretly overbilled Medicare patients involved in accidents.
5. Patient sues Hennepin Healthcare, says she was improperly sedated with ketamine, enrolled in drug trial
A patient filed a lawsuit against Minneapolis-based Hennepin Healthcare, alleging paramedics violated her civil rights when they forcibly injected her with ketamine in 2017 and enrolled her in a clinical trial without her consent.
6. Olympic Medical Center to join AHA lawsuit against Medicare cuts
Port Angeles, Wash.-based Olympic Medical Center will join the American Hospital Association's lawsuit against HHS over cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates for off-site clinics.
7. IT contractor to pay $389K DOJ settlement after inadequate EMR implementation
Computer Services Corp. agreed to pay $389,355 to settle U.S. Justice Department allegations that it falsely claimed it had met requirements for a new EMR system at U.S. Energy Department occupational health clinics in Washington state.
More articles on legal and regulatory issues:
AHA will sue to stop CMS' site-neutral payment policy
Feds claim Kansas physician involved in $30M billing fraud scheme
Judge halts Maine hospital merger