From Los Altos, Calif.-based Daughters of Charity Health System suing Service Employees International Union over a hospital deal to Aetna hitting a Texas hospital with a $120 million kickback lawsuit, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements.
1. FTC fails to speed up St. Luke's divestiture of Saltzer
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Federal Trade Commission's attempt to expedite Boise, Idaho-based St. Luke's Health System's divestiture of Saltzer Medical Group in Nampa, Idaho, despite the court's earlier ruling that the acquisition of the medical group.
2. Aetna hits 'hotel-like' hospital with $120M kickback lawsuit
North Cypress (Texas) Medical Center and its CEO engaged in an illegal kickback scheme and used deceptive billing practices that led Aetna Life Insurance to overpay the physician-owned community hospital by as much as $120 million, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the insurer.
3. HCA faces false claims lawsuit over unnecessary heart procedures
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings is facing a lawsuit alleging the for-profit hospital operator subjected patients to medically unnecessary interventional cardiology services and then submitted false claims to government payers for reimbursement.
4. Patient safety consultant to pay $1M to settle kickback allegations
Charles Denham, MD, the former chair of the Safe Practices Committee of the National Quality Forum, agreed to pay the federal government $1 million to settle allegations that he violated the False Claims Act by soliciting and accepting kickbacks.
5. Nurse who contracted Ebola sues Texas Health Resources
Nina Pham, the 26-year-old nurse who contracted Ebola at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas in October 2014, filed a lawsuit alleging the hospital violated her privacy and failed to properly train staff to care for patients with Ebola.
6. Physician assistant imposter treated 137 patients before being caught
A woman in Maryland was sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating a physician assistant and treating and diagnosing 137 infants and children.
7. Daughters of Charity sues SEIU over hospital deal
Daughters of Charity Health System, a six-hospital network based in Los Altos, Calif., filed a lawsuit against Service Employees International Union and its United Healthcare Workers West affiliate alleging the union's attempts to sabotage the system's efforts to sell its hospitals cost DCHS tens of millions of dollars.
8. SEIU suing over layoffs at Women and Infants Hospital
Service Employees International Union filed a lawsuit against Providence-based Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island over its decision to implement layoffs.
9. Federal appeals court expands definition of 'referral' under Anti-Kickback Statute
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit expanded the definition of "referral" under the Anti-Kickback Statute, causing some provider arrangements that were once safe to now implicate the Anti-Kickback Statute.
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