Recent Stories
Fraud penalties for violating anti-kickback law are doubling Aug. 1

Penalties for each false claim submitted to programs such as Medicare will swell to a minimum of $10,781 from a current minimum of $5,500. The maximum will go up to $21,563 per false claim from a current maximum of $11,000.
11 states side with FTC to fight Advocate-NorthShore merger

Eleven states have joined the Federal Trade Commission's fight to stop a merger between two Chicago-area health systems.
S.C. hospital to pay $17 million over physician pay allegations

South Carolina's Lexington Medical Center has agreed to a $17 million settlement over allegations that it paid 28 physicians unreasonably high amounts in exchange for referrals.
Faith-based systems ask SCOTUS to take pension-plan cases

Advocate Health Care in Illinois and St. Peter's Healthcare System in New Jersey want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether their pension plans should be exempt from certain federal protections for workers.
More physician employment means more breakup disputes

The way noncompete disputes play out in court varies from state to state, but some experts say judges are growing more comfortable enforcing them.
FTC finds defunct LabMD's data security practices violated law

The Federal Trade Commission ruled Friday that a clinical laboratory's lax data security practices violated federal law – a decision that some say could mean tougher enforcement for healthcare providers.
UPMC to pay $2.5 million to settle False Claims Act charges

UPMC will pay the government $2.5 million to settle allegations that its neurosurgeons submitted claims to Medicare for surgeries performed by others.
South Carolina hospital to pay $17 million over physician pay allegations

South Carolina's Lexington Medical Center will pay the government $17 million over allegations that it paid 28 physicians unreasonably high amounts in exchange for referrals.
Teva agrees to largest-ever drug divestiture in FTC pharma merger case

Drugmaker Teva will be allowed to acquire Allergan's generic pharmaceutical business after agreeing to divest a record 79 generic drugs in response to a challenge by the Federal Trade Commission.
11 states side with FTC in Advocate-NorthShore merger battle

Eleven states have joined the Federal Trade Commission's fight to stop a merger between two Chicago-area health systems.
Faith-based health systems ask Supreme Court to take cases over pension plans

Two faith-based health systems want the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on whether their pension plans should be exempt from certain federal protections for workers—an issue that has spurred dozens of lawsuits across the country in recent months.
Blog: Compliance officers and their bosses aren't on the same page

Management and boards often see healthcare compliance as a matter of satisfying regulatory requirements, according to a new survey. Compliance officers are more likely to see their duty as promoting an ethical culture and detecting misconduct.
Provider groups want $346 million from Health First in antitrust case

More than a dozen Florida doctors and provider groups will seek nearly $350 million from integrated system Health First for allegedly violating antitrust law in a trial scheduled to begin next month.
About 29% of rehab hospital patients on Medicare harmed during stays, OIG says

Nearly one out of three Medicare beneficiaries discharged from rehabilitation hospitals in March 2012 were medically harmed during stays at the facilities, according to a report from HHS' Office of Inspector General.
Judge sides with Missouri lawmaker challenging ACA's contraception mandate

The Obama administration cannot force a Missouri lawmaker and his family to carry health insurance that includes contraception coverage despite the Affordable Care Act's requirement that insurers cover birth control, a federal judge ruled Thursday.