FLORIDA STATUTES DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL STATE V. GABRIEL HARDEN
Florida Statute 409.920, Medicaid Provider Fraud Statute declared unconstitutional: State of Florida v. Gabriel Harden, et al., Case No. F00-38785 (11th Jud. Cir. February 5, 2003) and State of Florida v. Gabriel Harden, Case No. 3D03-521 (Fla. 3rd DCA Jan. 28, 2004), 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 623, 29 Fla. L. Weekly D 593. Argued by Anthony C. Vitale and Richard Strafer on January 28, 2003.
On May 18, 2006, the Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the Third District Court of Appeal decision in State v. Harden, 873 So. 2d 352 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004) declaring unconstitutional the Anti-kickback section of the Florida Medicaid Provider Fraud Statute, 409.920(e). The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of all charges against all defendants in the case of State of Florida vs. Gabriel R. Harden, (Case No. S00-38785) as well as 3 dentists -Edward Polsky, D.D.S., Maria Rodriguez, D.D.S., Elsa Cottoreal, D.D.S., and others.
On April 23rd 2007, the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari and the decision of the Florida Supreme Court became final.
A bill signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, that was intended to clarify Florida's Patient Brokering Act (PBA) may likely cause even more confusion in the provider community.
The PBA is Florida’s primary anti-kickback law. It is an all payer felony statute, meaning it reaches both private insurance as well as the Florida Medicaid program. Violations are punishable by up to five years in prison and fines between $50,000 and $500,000 per violation. Click here to read the full article that appeared in the Daily Business Review.
The Health Law Offices of Anthony C Vitale filed case resulting in $29 Million Tenet False Claims Act Allegations Settlement
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Tenet Healthcare Corporation subsidiary Lifemark Hospitals of Florida has paid the United States $29 million to settle allegations that Lifemark, Tenet and various affiliated and predecessor companies violated the False Claims Act in connection with false claims submitted to the Medicare Program, the Justice Department announced today. Lifemark, which does business as Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, Fla., was acquired by Tenet in March of 1995.
The settlement agreement resolves allegations by the United States that the hospital's submissions to Medicare from 1994 to 1997 included false claims for home health services purportedly provided by three agencies in Dade, Islamorada and Key West, Florida. Read More...
$145M landmark settlement largest in DOJ history involving skilled nursing facility
Oct. 26, 2016 (MIAMI, FLA.) It was a case that was eight years in the making, but on October 24, Anthony C. Vitale’s hard work and dedication paid off when Life Care Centers of America Inc., and its owner Forrest L. Preston, agreed to pay $145 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging violations of the False Claims Act. The settlement is the largest involving a skilled nursing facility chain in the history of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Health Care Lawyer Challenges 1996 Florida Patient Brokering Statute
by Lois Thomson South Florida Hospital News
In reference to his health care practice, Anthony C. Vitale, Esq. says, "I like to do things which can change the law and helps out clients." If that is the case, Vitale must be quite excited following a recent decision which found unconstitutional a statute that had been on the books since 1996.
In the case in question, Florida v. Rubio, the prosecution charged the defendants with receiving kickbacks for patient referrals. The defendants were dentists Sonia Bonilla and Anamaria Bonilla, who are sisters; John Anthony Rubio, who owns a dental practice management company; and Iliana Martin-Fernandez and Gustavo Adolfo Fernandez, two of Rubio's employees
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Florida Anti-Kickback Statute Declared Unconstitutional
The Health Law Offices of Anthony C. Vitale filed a motion declaring Florida Statute 817.505, Patient brokering statute declared unconstitutional: State of Florida vs. Sonia Bonilla Guzman, DDS, Ana Maria Bonilla Mendez, DDS, and John Anthony Rubio, Case No. 48-2003-CF-13501-0 (911 Jud. Cir. February 1, 2005)
Florida Statute 409.920, Medicaid Provider Fraud Statute declared unconstitutional: State of Florida v. Gabriel Harden, et al., Case No. F00-38785 (11 1h Jud. Cir. February 5, 2003) and State of Florida v. Gabriel Harden, Case No. 3D03-521 (Fla. 3 DCA Jan. 28, 2004), 2004 Fla. App. LEXIS 623, 29 Fla. L. Weekly D 593
