fraud | The Health Law Firm Blog

411-PAIN Settles with Florida Attorney General

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

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that her office has reached a settlement with 411-PAIN. The settlement requires 411-PAIN to pay $550,000 and change its advertising practices for allegedly making misrepresentations to consumers. 411-PAIN is a Florida-based attorney and chiropractic referral service.

411-PAIN Allegedly Misrepresented Consumer Entitlements.

The Attorney General pursued action against 411-PAIN for the company’s alleged violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Chapter 501, Part II, Florida Statutes. To view Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, click here.

Allegedly, the company misrepresented that […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:31-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, The Health Law Firm Blog|

The Importance of Complying with the Stark Law and Other Anti-Fraud Laws

By Lance O. Leider, J.D.

The federal government has several tools in its toolbox to combat Medicare fraud. Among those are the Stark Act, Anti-Kickback laws, and Civil Monetary Penalty Laws. Each of these typically focuses on a particular type of behavior that is prone to abuse by healthcare providers.

The following focuses on the Stark law and what is prohibited by it. Primarily, the Stark laws exist to combat the problems that can arise from physician self-referrals. Self-referrals are cases in which a physician orders a test or service and refers the patient to a provider in which the referring physician has a financial interest. This […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:40-04:00June 1, 2018|In the Know, Medicare, The Health Law Firm Blog|

“Doctor of Death” Trial Could Ignite Stricter Oversight in the Healthcare Industry

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

On paper, one Detroit-area oncologist appeared to be a wildly successful professional with impeccable medical credentials. According to his medical practice’s website, he went to medical school at Cornell Medical College, did an internal medicine residency at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and then completed a medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a very well-respected facility. The oncologist ran a professional practice of seven locations with a total of 60 employees.

However, on September 24, 2014, his reputation and accolades faded when he pleaded guilty to intentionally and wrongfully diagnosing healthy […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:58-04:00June 1, 2018|In the News, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Emergency Suspension Orders and Medicaid Fraud

In the recent case of Mendelsohn v. State of Florida Department of Health, Mendelsohn’s license to practice medicine was suspended under an Emergency Suspension Order (ESO).

According to the ESO, Mendelsohn is licensed to practice medicine in Florida pursuant to the provisions of chapter 458, Florida Statutes. On December 9, 2010, he entered a plea of nolo contendere in federal court to a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud upon the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. As a result of his conviction, the Florida Department of Health immediately suspended his medical license without a hearing pursuant to section 456.074(1), Florida Statutes (2010), which states:

(1) The department shall issue an emergency […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:27-04:00June 1, 2018|Department of Health, Health Care Industry, Medicaid, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Clinical Trial: When Research Goes Wrong

Three patients died in an unapproved medical trial conducted between 2003 and 2004. Now, the executives of Snythes Inc., a medical-device company, are awaiting sentencing this week after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor as “responsible corporate officers,” according to Business Week.

The Synthes officials allegedly bypassed FDA protocol to have surgeons test bone cement in people with spine fractures. The product was not approved for that use, and three people died in the operating room in 2003 and 2004. The patients who died suffered a severe drop in blood pressure following the injections. The surgeons involved could not rule out the bone cement as a factor in the deaths, but it also wasn’t definitively responsible.

Synthes pleaded guilty to corporate health care […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:00:27-04:00June 1, 2018|Health Care Industry, Medical Research, The Health Law Firm Blog|

Pennsylvania Hospital Agrees to Pay $325,000 to Settle Medicare Overbilling Allegations: Inpatient Codes Used for Outpatient Procedures

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

On August 8, 2016, a Pennsylvania hospital accused of overbilling Medicare agreed to settle civil claims with the federal government for $325,000, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia announced. The case arose out of allegations that the hospital used inpatient diagnosis codes for routine outpatient procedures.

Northampton Hospital Co. LLC (Northampton), which operates Easton Hospital, has agreed to resolve allegations of improper Medicare billing for inpatient procedures performed at the health care facility from January 1, 2008, through June 27, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:12-04:00May 15, 2018|Health Facilities Law Blog|