From Dignity Health entering into a settlement in a wage-deduction lawsuit to New Hampshire hospitals suing over allegedly discriminatory Medicaid payment rates, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.
1. Hospitals want redo in site-neutral payment case
The American Hospital Association and dozens of individual hospitals filed a petition Aug. 31 asking a federal appeals court to rehear a case challenging HHS' site-neutral payment policy that cuts Medicare payments for hospital outpatient visits.
2. New Hampshire hospitals allege CMS approved discriminatory Medicaid rates
Three New Hampshire hospitals are suing CMS and the state of Vermont over the Medicaid rates Vermont pays to out-of-state hospitals.
3. Dignity Health strikes $950K settlement in wage-deduction suit
A federal judge in Nevada approved a $950,000 settlement that resolves allegations that San Francisco-based Dignity Health improperly deducted wages from a group of healthcare workers.
4. Former Hacienda HealthCare CEO, CFO face felony charges
Phoenix-based Hacienda HealthCare has entered into an $11 million civil settlement with the Arizona attorney general's office, and two of the company's former executives have been indicted in an elaborate fraud case.
5. West Virginia VA hospital employee says he was targeted after reporting concerns over serial killer
An employee at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, W.Va., filed a federal whistleblower lawsuit claiming he was targeted for reporting patient care and management problems at the facility and concerns over a serial killer.
6. Battle over building 100-bed hospital in Augusta heads back to Georgia Supreme Court
A dispute over Augusta (Ga.) University Medical Center's plan to build a 100-bed hospital is headed back to the Georgia Supreme Court.
7. Conflict of interest claims dismissed in contested North Carolina Medicaid decision
A North Carolina judge dismissed claims filed by health insurers who lost their bids to manage the state's Medicaid program.
8. SUNY Downstate faces 4th lawsuit alleging inadequate cardiac patient care, retaliation against surgeons
A cardiothoracic surgeon filed a lawsuit against SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City, alleging that he was fired after he notified leadership about patient safety and quality issues — the fourth such lawsuit filed against the hospital.