The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 31, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 28, 2013, a Florida federal judge approved a $3 million settlement in a False Claims Act lawsuit alleging Hospice of the Comforter Inc. (HOTCI), defrauded Medicare. The judge shot down objections from the whistleblower (sometimes called a “relator” or “plaintiff” who argued that the settlement amount is unfair, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

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The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 23, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. We’re coming up on that time of year when stuffy noses and scratchy throats turn into the full-blown influenza virus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the flu season usually runs from November 1 through March 31. With the flu season comes the debate over the legality of mandatory flu shots for health care professionals.

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The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 21, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 20, 2013, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that companies will have to include unique device identification (UDI) codes on medical devices. These codes will provide a consistent way to identify medical devices, and therefore, should improve patient safety, according to the FDA.

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The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 14, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The cost of copying medical records will stay where it is, for now. On October 3, 2013, the Florida Board of Medicine voted to not allow an increase to the cost of medical records requested by patients and others from physicians. The Board did vote to conduct research on the topic and discuss the issue again at the next Board meeting.

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The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 9, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The University of Miami Hospital allegedly owes Medicare $3.7 million. This is according to an audit report of the hospital’s billing practices that found the hospital allegedly overbilled the health care program in 2009 and 2010. The report was released on October 8, 2013, by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG).

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The Health Law Firm

OCTOBER 2, 2013

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A federal whistleblower or qui tam lawsuit against a local physician group has been settled, according to the Orlando Business Journal (OBJ) on September 30, 2013. The providers were accused of fraudulently billing Medicare and TRICARE from 2007 until 2010.

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