Archive for July 2019
Labs Settle With UnitedHealthcare For $56.2 Million
UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a lawsuit it filed in 2016 against five toxicology laboratory companies for $56.2 million. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleged that medical testing lab executives offered kickbacks in the form of partnership shares to treatment facilities and doctors in exchange…
Read MoreReport: Many High-Risk Medicaid Providers Not Undergoing Critical Background Checks
Eighteen states failed to properly screen high-risk providers before allowing them to receive Medicaid payments by the July 2018 deadline and 13 of those states had not yet complied by Jan. 1, 2019. Those are the findings from a recently released report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.…
Read MoreGrowth of Telemedicine Sees Increase in Healthcare Fraud
Earlier this month, a New York anesthesiologist was indicted on charges stemming from her role in an alleged telemedicine conspiracy to submit fraudulent claims to federal and private insurance plans. The indictment alleges that Anna Steiner, also known as Hanna Wasielewska, along with others, ordered and prescribed durable medical equipment (DME) and prescription drugs in…
Read MoreNew Telehealth Law Takes Effect in Florida
On June 25, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law HB 23, which sets up guidelines for telehealth services in Florida. The legislation took effect July 1. Among other things, the law creates new practice standards for how telehealth can be used and by whom, registration of out-of-state telehealth providers, where telehealth services can be…
Read MoreHIPAA Violations Result in More Than Fines: Beware of Jail Time
Late last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that a 62-year-old woman would be spending a year behind bars after being convicted of disclosing the health information of two people “with the intent to cause them embarrassment and mental distress.†Linda Sue Kalina worked from March 7, 2016 through June 23, 2017 as a…
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