Search results for: genetic testing
Practitioner Beware: OIG Issues Telemedicine Fraud Alert
The increasing number of fraudulent schemes involving telemedicine companies prompted the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services to recently issue a special fraud alert. The alert came on the heels of a nationwide crackdown on a $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme leading to charges against three dozen defendants in…
Read MoreThree Dozen Charged in $1.2 Billion Healthcare Fraud Scheme
The U.S. Department of Justice, through coordinated investigations across 13 districts, has filed criminal charges against three dozen defendants who allegedly were involved in $1.2 billion in fraudulent telemedicine, cardiovascular and cancer genetic testing, and durable medical equipment schemes. Those charged include a telemedicine company executive, owners and executives of clinical laboratories, durable medical equipment…
Read MoreWatchdog Agency Details Enforcement Activities During Six-Month Period
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) expects to make nearly $3 billion in recoveries resulting from the agency’s audits and investigations, according to its Semiannual Report to Congress released earlier this month. The semiannual reporting period runs from Oct. 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022. The watchdog agency…
Read MoreGovernment Nabs More Covid Fraud Suspects
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in yet another avenue to perpetuate fraud within the healthcare arena. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Justice announced criminal charges had been filed against 21 people in nine federal districts for their alleged participation in various schemes that exploited the pandemic to the tune of $149 million. Cities involved…
Read MoreOIG Expects to Recover Nearly $4B from Audits, Investigations in 2021
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s fight against healthcare fraud, waste and abuse is paying off. The watchdog agency, in its Semiannual Report to Congress, noted that during the six-month period ended Sept. 30, 2021, it expects to make nearly $4 billion in recoveries as a result of…
Read MoreSeven Not So Lucky Number for Two Healthcare Providers
A Florida doctor and the owner of several diagnostic labs have recently found themselves each facing jail sentences of seven years for committing healthcare fraud in separate cases. On Nov. 9, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Leonel Palatnik of Aventura and co-owner of Panda Conservation Group, was sentenced to nearly 7 years in…
Read MoreClinical Lab Settles HIPAA Violation Case
A Georgia-based clinical laboratory recently agreed to pay $25,000 to The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to settle potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule. That rule establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic personal health information (PHI) that…
Read MoreCOVID-19 Healthcare Fraud: It’s Started
A Georgia woman was arrested earlier this month in connection with a scheme in which she is alleged to have sought to pay and receive illegal kickbacks in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries for expensive cancer screening and COVID-19 tests. Loosened healthcare regulations, including blanket waivers of the federal Anti-kickback Statute (AKS) and physician self-referral…
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