About The Health Law Firm

The Health Law Firm concentrates on representing health care providers. Our health law attorneys and paralegals have decades of experience in the legal and health care fields. Our health law attorneys include those Board Certified in Health Law, Masters degree trained, former hospital counsel and licensed health care professionals. Our clients include physicians, dentists, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, medical students, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospitals, health insurers, medical groups, durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, and other health care providers.
FacebookLinkedInEmail

Florida Surgeon, Device Company Owner Arrested For Paying Bribes, Kickbacks

Author HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 7, 2021, federal prosecutors announced the arrest of a Florida surgeon and owner of device company SpineFrontier Inc on charges of bribing surgeons to use products by paying sham consulting fees.

Accused in an indictment in Boston federal court for violating the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and conspiracy to commit money laundering, is the company’s founder and CEO from Florida. Also charged in the indictment were the company’s chief financial officer from Massachusetts and the device company itself. The charges of AKS violations carry a maximum prison sentence […]

By |2024-07-13T20:00:06-04:00July 15, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog, In the Know|
Read More

Florida Surgeon Handed Seven Years in Prison for $28 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On November 18, 2021, a Tallahassee surgeon was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for committing health care fraud, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The scheme involved performing hundreds of medically unnecessary, invasive surgical procedures on his patients.

The defendant, a dual citizen of the United States and Ghana, pled guilty to all 58 counts against him in federal court on December 18, 2020. Jason R. Cody, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the sentence. Read more about the […]

By |2024-07-12T20:00:04-04:00July 14, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog, In the News|
Read More

Humana Agrees To Pay $11.2 Million Settlement in Nursing Overtime Suit

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 27, 2021, Humana agreed to pay $11.2 million to end claims that the health insurance company denied a group of nurses overtime pay by misclassifying them as exempt employees. A Wisconsin federal judge approved the deal with Humana, and a group of more than 200 nurses reached, securing a $36,000 average payment for each nurse involved in the suit.

A Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

This dispute stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 alleging that Humana misclassified its clinical nurse advisers as exempt employees and denied them overtime compensation, violating […]

By |2024-07-12T20:00:03-04:00July 14, 2024|Pharmacy Law Blog|
Read More

Texas Hospital’s Vaccination Mandate For COVID-19 Upheld by Federal Court

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

As some states lift COVID-19 restrictions, the business community is still grappling with the dynamic between the COVID-19 vaccine and workplace operations. To address this, some U.S. employers have elected to adopt mandatory vaccination policies. These policies, in essence, require that, subject to a few exceptions, all employees must receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued employment.

Not surprisingly, we see various legal challenges to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies across the country. On June 12, 2021, a federal court in Texas became the first to rule on the permissibility of such policies […]

By |2024-07-09T20:00:57-04:00July 11, 2024|Dental Law Blog|
Read More

From the archives: From the archives: NY Court Says Doctor Can Subpoena Yelp for User Info in Defamation Suit

Previously published on April 15, 2023
Previously published on January 19, 2022
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Yelp is subject to a subpoena to reveal the names of anonymous users who left negative reviews for a doctor and his medical practice. The federal court judge found that the statements in the reviews made on Yelp contained factual claims that the doctor did have a legal right to contest in court. This is a factor that is usually missing in such cases. Accordingly, a […]

By |2024-07-07T20:00:16-04:00July 9, 2024|Nursing Law Blog|
Read More

Finding a Lawyer Who Takes CPH & Associates Insurance

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Our firm often gets calls from nurses and other health professionals who retain us to represent them in complaints against their licenses or in professional licensing complaints and investigations. This includes investigation letters from the Florida Department of Health (DOH), D.C. Health or Louisiana State Board. It also includes notices of hearing, administrative complaints, proposed Consent Orders, emergency restriction orders (EROs), and emergency suspension orders (ESOs). In many cases they had good insurance coverage with CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance, but could not find an attorneys that accepted it or forgot that they had coverage.

Often adverse […]

By |2024-07-05T20:00:04-04:00July 7, 2024|Nursing Law Blog|
Read More

NY Court Says Doctor Can Subpoena Yelp for User Info in Defamation Suit

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 7, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that Yelp is subject to a subpoena to reveal the names of anonymous users who left negative reviews for a doctor and his medical practice. The federal court judge found that the statements in the reviews made on Yelp contained factual claims that the doctor did have a legal right to contest in court. This is a factor that is usually missing in such cases. Accordingly, a motion for expedited discovery filed by the plaintiff physician was granted by […]

By |2024-06-23T20:00:12-04:00June 25, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
Read More

Texas Hospital’s Vaccination Mandate For COVID-19 Upheld by Federal Court

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

As some states lift COVID-19 restrictions, the business community is still grappling with the dynamic between the COVID-19 vaccine and workplace operations. To address this, some U.S. employers have elected to adopt mandatory vaccination policies. These policies, in essence, require that, subject to a few exceptions, all employees must receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued employment.

Not surprisingly, we see various legal challenges to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies across the country. On June 12, 2021, a federal court in Texas became the first to rule on the permissibility of such policies […]

By |2024-06-22T20:01:36-04:00June 24, 2024|Massage Law Blog|
Read More

DOJ Withdraws Outdated Antitrust Policy Statements For Healthcare Industry; “Safety Zones” Abolished

Attorney and Author George F. Indest III HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 3, 2023, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) withdrew three “outdated” antitrust policy statements applicable to healthcare markets. These have been in effect and relied upon for decades by those in the healthcare industry. According to a statement it issued, the Division determined that withdrawing the three statements is the best course of action for promoting competition and transparency.

Over the past three decades since this guidance was first released, the healthcare landscape has changed significantly. As a result, the statements are overly […]

By |2024-06-21T20:00:19-04:00June 23, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
Read More

Humana Health Insurance Company To Pay $11.2 Million Settlement to Nurses

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 27, 2021, Humana agreed to pay $11.2 million to end claims that the health insurance company denied a group of nurses overtime pay by misclassifying them as exempt employees. A Wisconsin federal judge approved the deal with Humana, and a group of more than 200 nurses reached, securing a $36,000 average payment for each nurse involved in the suit.

A Violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

This dispute stems from a class-action lawsuit filed in 2017 alleging that Humana misclassified its clinical nurse advisers as exempt employees and denied them overtime compensation, violating […]

By |2024-06-21T20:00:18-04:00June 23, 2024|Medical Education Law Blog|
Read More
“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A.
The Health Law Firm, a Florida professional service corporation, since 1999.
Copyright © 2024 The Health Law Firm. All rights reserved.
FacebookInstagramLinkedInTwitterYouTube
Go to Top