Beth Jones Sanborn
Bon Secours Health System and Eugene Y. Chang, MD, one of the system's surgical oncologists, will pay $400,000 to settle civil fraud allegations leveled against them in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Bon Secours practice manager and one of Chang's former colleagues, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in what could be a precedent-setting case stemming from the death of a Massachusetts teen after treatment at a Universal Health Services-owned facility. The case, referred to as Universal Health Services v United States ex rel. Escobar, was brought by the teen's parents against Universal Health Services, the largest owner of psychiatric hospitals and clinics in the United States.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine campaign says hospitals have a responsibility to teach about healthy eating.
Pharmaceutical company Warner Chilcott was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston to pay $125 million to resolve criminal and civil liability stemming from the illegal promotion of various drugs including Actonel, Asacol, Atelvia, Doryx, Enablex, Estrace, Loestrin and various formulations of these drugs, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.
A former healthcare clinic consultant and Medicare biller has been sentenced to a little more than 11 years in prison, and ordered to pay a $100,000 fine, for her role in a $63 million healthcare fraud scheme involving a now-defunct Miami health provider, the Department of Justice announced earlier this week.
Todd Ostendorf previously held CFO roles with North Memorial Health Care and UnitedHealth Group's Complex Population Management.
Jaques Roy's conviction, along with three home health agency owners, is the culmination of a six-week trial in which the jury deliberated for less than two days before delivering their verdict on the landmark $375 million scheme. The DOJ confirmed this is the biggest home health fraud ever for Medicare and Medicaid.
Despite the drive towards value-based payment models, physicians are bringing in $1.56 million each in inpatient and outpatient fee-for-service revenue to hospitals, according to a survey by AMN Healthcare subsidiary Merritt-Hawkins, a slight increase of $112,230 over 2013.
Unfortunately, thousands of people in need of mental health treatment are often being dropped at the emergency departments of their local hospitals, where under federal law doctors must evaluate these patients despite the limitations on ER-based mental health treatment.
Almost 30 percent of the 11,990 practicing urologists in the United States are holding off on retirement until at least age 71. That's compared to 22.7 percent a year ago according to the American Urological Association's 2015 Annual Census.