Archive for October 2017
October a Big Month for Anti-Kickback Cases Involving Compounding Pharmacies
Physicians, recruiters and pharmacy owners continue to be the target of ongoing investigations into fraudulent claims involving compounded medications. A recent spate of arrests, guilty pleas and convictions serve to highlight the government’s increased level of scrutiny over the industry, mostly as it relates to improper relationships between pharmacies and physicians under the Anti-Kickback Statute.…
Read MoreFailure to Repay Can Result in FCA Case
There’s nothing wrong with holding on to money for as long as you can before giving it back, is there? Well, if you’re a medical practice and you delay repaying overpayments owed to the government, then it can get you in some hot water. That’s what happened to First Coast Cardiovascular Institute, P.A., a Jacksonville,…
Read MoreVA Proposal Would Expand Access to Care Via Telemedicine
Challenged by limited healthcare resources, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has issued a proposal that would allow VA healthcare providers to serve patients across state lines via telehealth, regardless of where they are licensed to practice. For fiscal year 2016, VA healthcare providers had 2.17 million telehealth episodes serving more than 700,00 veterans, 45…
Read MoreGAO: CMS Fraud Prevention Working
The days of “pay and chase†in the world of healthcare fraud are waning thanks to fraud prevention methods that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have put into place. A newly released report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds that Fraud Prevention System (FPS), which analyzes fee-for-service claims to identify healthcare providers…
Read MoreGovernment Cracking Down on Genetic Testing Labs
As the use of genetic testing has grown in popularity, so too have the number of investigations into allegations that these labs may be paying kickbacks to physicians for ordering unnecessary tests. Most recently, two testing labs, Proove Biosciences in Irvine, Calif. and Dallas-based Next Health LLC, have been under investigation for doing just that.…
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