The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 24, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The University of Florida (UF) has agreed to pay nearly $20 million to the federal government to settle allegations brought under the False Claims Act. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement Friday under allegations that it "improperly charged the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for salary and administrative costs on hundreds of federal grants.

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The Health Law Firm

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 15, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Broward Health, an operator of more than 50 health care facilities in South Florida, agreed to pay $69.5 million to settle False Claims Act allegations. Broward Health violated the Federal Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute by allegedly overcompensating referring physicians for services to cover up illegal kickbacks for patient refe

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The Health Law Firm

JUNE 23, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Health Law and Shelby Root On May 29, 2015, the US District Court for the Western District of Texas granted an injunction against the Texas Medical Board (TMB). The suit was brought by a company called Teladoc, Inc. Teladoc, Inc provided medical services to patients through webchats, video chats, and other telemedicine modalities.

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The Health Law Firm

JUNE 23, 2015

By: Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm On June 9, 2015, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General issued a special fraud alert on physician compensation arrangements. The purpose of the alert was to warn physicians who enter into certain arrangements like medical directorships, department chairs, board of directors seats, and other similar positions to do so carefully.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 24, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On Monday, December 21, 2015, Debra Martin filed suit against former employer, Middletown Community Health Center Inc. (MCHC), in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, claiming she was wrongfully terminated after exposing alleged illegal activities of the health center to her superiors.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 23, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law For the third time now, the Eleventh Circuit ruled on Monday, December 14, 2015, that a Florida law restricting physicians' questions about patients' gun ownership is constitutional. The ruling eliminated an injunction against enforcement and again reversed a district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of a group of physicians challenging what has become known as the "gun gag" law.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 22, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 10, 2015, US District Court for the Southern District of Texas granted defendant's partial motion for summary judgment in a qui tam case alleging violations of the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The case was originally filed on June 10, 2003, by relators John King and Tammy Drummond, naming several pharmaceutical companies as defendants including Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 17, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A husband and wife from Chicago, Illinois, were sentenced to prison terms by US District Judge Richard Mills on Monday, December 14, 2015, for their roles in the misappropriation of $3 million in grant funds. Leon Dingle Jr. and his wife, Karen Dingle, were convicted at a one-week long jury trial in December 2014 of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 15, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On Thursday, December 10, 2015, 24-year-old, Daniel Suarez, was sentenced to nine years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $21 million in restitution by US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, for his alleged leading role in a Medicare fraud scheme in Miami, Florida.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 14, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On Friday, November 20, 2015, during the early morning hours in New Orleans (my home town), a Tulane University (my alma mater) medical student from Longwood, Florida, Peter Gold, was shot in the stomach as he attempted to assist a woman who was being assaulted in a botched robbery.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 11, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A Virginia dermatologist, revered by several publications as one of the top doctors in the nation for several years running, was recently acquitted of more than 40 counts of health care fraud following an unusually lengthy 16-day trial. Dr. Amir Bajoghli was originally indicted in August 2014 on 60 counts; 53 counts of health care fraud, six counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of obstruct

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 10, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Former nursing home employee, Kelsey Nobach, a Jehovah's Witness, filed a discrimination suit against former employer, Woodland Village Nursing Center Inc. (Woodland), alleging her termination from the facility was the direct result of her religious beliefs.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 7, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; candy canes and toys, holly and trees, bells and carols, and. Baker Acts? You read that right. According to University of Central Florida (UCF) police Cpl. Peter Osterrieder, a rise in Baker Acts is to be expected among college students this time of year.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 7, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On Thursday, December 3, 2015, shareholders of Anthem Inc. (Anthem) and Cigna Corp. (Cigna) approved a previously announced $54 billion mega-merger in an overwhelming 99 percent favorable vote. The pending acquisition of Cigna by Anthem would cover approximately 53 million medical members resulting in the formation of the nation's largest health insurance company.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 4, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Dr. Amir Bajoghli, of McLean, Virginia, was a dermatologist and owner of the Skin & Laser Surgery Center. Dr. Bajoghli was recognized by former Washingtonian Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, US News & World Report and Castle Connolly as "Top Doctor.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 2, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Medco Health Solutions Inc. (Medco) asked a Delaware federal judge to dismiss a False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit brought by former employee and vice president of the company's pharmaceutical contracting group. Paul Denis brought the qui tam suit against Medco alleging the company defrauded state and federal insurance companies by hiding discounts it was receiving on drugs.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 2, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Former New York Assembly Speaker, Sheldon Silver, was convicted by a jury on Monday, November 30, 2015, on federal corruption charges. Silver had spent nearly 40 years as an elected New York Assemblyman. Prosecutors say Silver was using public money to fund an asbestos disease researcher in exchange for patient referrals to Silver's colleagues and personal injury law firm, Weitz & Luxenberg PC.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 1, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Southern Baptist Hospital of Florida Inc. (Baptist) filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the First District Court of Appeal in Florida following a Florida circuit court ruling on the compelled disclosure of certain documents. The plaintiffs in a medical malpractice case were attempting to obtain peer review documents from the hospital on their claims.

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The Health Law Firm

DECEMBER 1, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Back in 2006, Anil Potti, a cancer researcher at Duke University, claimed to identify genetic markers that would allow customized treatment for cancer patients based on the types of tumors they had. Several reports from Potti and his team claimed it could predict a patient's response to chemotherapy with up to 90 percent accuracy.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 25, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, ordered relator, Associates Against Outlier Fraud (Associates), to pay $15,000 in costs to the prevailing defendants, Huron Consulting Group Inc. (Huron) and Empire HealthChoice Assurance Inc. (Empire), in a failed False Claims Act (FCA) suit.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Former owners of a health maintenance organization (HMO), Haider Ali Khan and Sabiha Haider Khan, recently filed suit in Florida federal court against BankUnited Inc. and its acquired New York-based Herald National Bank. The Khans formerly operated the Tampa-based HMO, Quality Health Plans Inc.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 20, 2015

By Michelle Bedoya and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its 2016 Annual Work Plan (Work Plan) on November 2, 2015, with an effective date of October 1, 2015. The 2016 Work Plan identifies the new and ongoing investigative, enforcement and compliance activities that the OIG will undertake.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Assistant Attorney General, Bill Baer, head of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, recently spoke at a Yale Law School conference about competition in the health care industry. While not singling out any specific companies, Baer seemed to repeatedly reference two proposed "mega-mergers" that are currently in the balance.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

By Michelle Bedoya and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released its 2016 Annual Work Plan (Work Plan) on November 2, 2015, with an effective date of October 1, 2015. The Work Plan describes more than 40 new investigations and strategic inquiries concerning pharmacy fraud and increased drug prices, among other topics.

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The Health Law Firm

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Medicare providers generally recoil at the news of an impending audit. However, being notified of a prepayment review is even worse. In a prepayment review, health care providers are required to submit documentation to a contractor for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) before ever even receiving payment.

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