Archive
Wade Emmert
CMS Provides Additional Expansion Opportunities for High Medicaid Physician-Owned Hospitals
Under the Affordable Care Act’s amendments to the Stark Law, a Physician Owned Hospital (POH) cannot expand the aggregate number of operating rooms, procedure rooms or…
Texas Hospice Owner Sentenced for Fraud Scheme
A jury found Rodney Mesquias guilty last week on charges of: conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy…
Texas Heart Hospital and Subsidiary Management Company to Pay $48 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Related to Alleged Kickbacks
Huge qui tam settlement where the qui tam plaintiffs will recover $13.9 million. The underlying action involves allegations that the Heart Hospital violated the Stark Law…
Federal Regulatory Compliance Issues Can Arise in State Court Matters
An interesting read regarding the use of federal regulatory compliance issues (e.g impermissible healthcare kickbacks) to support a state court tort claim. The plaintiffs sued the…
Two area home health agency owners charged in health care fraud and illegal kickback scheme
A federal grand jury indicted two home health agency on allegations that they fraudulently billed Medicare more than $10 million. The indictment alleges that Tataw and…
HHS Proposes Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Empower Patients, Improve Coordinated Care, and Reduce Regulatory Burdens
The proposed changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule include strengthening individuals’ rights to access their own health information, including electronic information; improving information sharing for care…
Former Owner of Health Care Staffing Company Indicted for Wage Fixing
A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Neeraj Jindal, the former owner of a therapist staffing company, for participating in a conspiracy to fix prices…
Health care company owner to pay $1 million to settle False Claims Act case
The former owner of Providence Home Health and Providence Hospice has agreed to pay $1.05 million to settle claims she knowingly and willfully paid improper kickbacks…
Cutting Out the “Middleman”? HHS Resurrects Anti-Rebate Rule for Medicare Part D
[T]he Final Rule will modify the federal health care program’s Anti-Kickback Statute (“AKS”) safe harbors in three key ways: First, it will remove safe harbor protection…
Direct Contracting Model Comes to Medicare
Under the model, healthcare providers — which CMS calls “direct contracting entities,” or DCEs — will competitively bid to manage 100% of the Medicare Part A…