A chair with a name card for Ralph de la Torre, MD, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, sat empty Sept. 12 after he skipped the bipartisan Senate committee hearing he had been subpoenaed to attend. 

The Washington state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year to hold hospitals accountable for medical errors committed by independent contractors, a Seattle-based law firm said Sept. 10. 

While there are still issues to iron out, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez authorized an interim settlement agreement for Dallas-based Steward Health Care to transition many of its remaining hospitals to its landlord, Medical Properties Trust, or applicable designated operators, effective Sept. 11. 

Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health will continue to operate a hospital in Fosston, Minn., after an arbitration panel ruled in the health system's favor in a dispute with the city. 

Many hospital executives contend with older legacy IT systems that are vulnerable to cyberattacks and may violate HIPAA requirements. While technical challenges abound, one approach is to provide detection and response capabilities through network firewalls through which legacy systems communicate.

Medical device manufacturer THD America has agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations it knowingly caused physicians to use incorrect codes to obtain inflated reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid. 

Rushville, Ill.-based Sarah D. Culbertson Memorial Hospital is being accused of sharing patients' information with third parties, including Google, Microsoft and Facebook, the Journal-Courier reported Sept. 10.

New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University has settled a lawsuit brought by 93 patients claiming they had endured excruciating egg retrieval procedures after a nurse secretly swapped their fentanyl for saline solution, The New York Times reported Sept. 9.

Madera, Calif.-based Valley Children's Healthcare recently proposed a settlement that would give about $50 to each employee in a lawsuit alleging the hospital did not pay sufficient wages. However, one nurse said she is owed more than 500 times that amount and filed a motion to prevent her own lawsuit from being precluded, The San Joaquin Valley Sun reported.

The Biden administration on Sept. 9 said it is finalizing a set of rules designed to eliminate loopholes and improve funding among insurers and health plans for mental healthcare services.

A nurse practitioner in Alabama has filed a lawsuit against HHS, challenging a $217,500 penalty imposed for breaching a federal student loan relief program meant to increase access to healthcare in rural communities, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 5. 

From a co-owner and CFO of a Louisiana-based laboratory sentenced to prison for his role in a $127 million scheme, to a Montana health system settling allegations that it submitted false claims to federal healthcare programs, here are 10 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker's has reported since Aug. 12:

The Federal Trade Commission submitted a Sept. 5 comment to the Indiana Department of Health urging it to reject an application for Terre Haute, Ind.-based Union Health to acquire Terre Haute Regional Hospital, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare.

Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Bernie Sanders are working with Republicans to put a contempt citation vote together against Dallas-based Steward Health Care's CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD, after he declined to take part in a Sept. 12 bipartisan Senate committee hearing.

On Sept. 4, two South Carolina residents filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Walgreens, alleging the retailer failed to warn customers about a carcinogenic ingredient in a common cold medicine. 

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare has beat a lawsuit that alleged it shared patients' personally identifiable information and protected health information with Facebook, Top Class Actions reported Sept. 4. 

The co-owner and CFO of a Baton Rouge, La.-based clinic was sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a $127 million Medicare fraud scheme, The Advocate reported Sept. 3. 

Eighteen former patients, or families of patients who died, have filed a $303 million medical malpractice and wrongful death lawsuit against Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford, Ore., over a drug diversion case that allegedly harmed dozens of patients, according to the Rogue Valley Times.

Steward Health Care Chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre, MD, has declined to participate in a bipartisan Senate committee hearing scheduled for Sept. 12, despite being subpoenaed, Bloomberg reports. 

From HHS dropping an appeal of a data tracking lawsuit to a Montana health system settling false claims allegations, here are 10 healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal actions Becker's has reported since Aug. 21: