Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate introduced a bill Nov. 12 to solidify a federal judge's decision that the "conscience protection" rule is unconstitutional.

Kathleen Frederico was sentenced Nov. 12 to more than two years in prison after pleading guilty in June to embezzling nearly $547,000 from Saint Luke's Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System, according to the Department of Justice.

Life Spine, a Huntley, Ill.-based medical devicemaker, agreed to pay nearly $6 million to settle a federal lawsuit alleging two of its executives paid physicians kickbacks to encourage them to use the company's products. 

Promise Healthcare Group, a hospital and nursing home chain based in Boca Raton, Fla., is accusing its former CEO and a unit of Santa Ana, Calif.-based KPC Group of engaging in a "campaign of misinformation" that forced Promise to reduce the price of two hospitals by nearly $10 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A former Royal Oak, Mich.-based Beaumont Hospital patient is suing the hospital and an affiliated cardiovascular group for wrongly accessing her medical records, which ended up being posted on social media, according to local ABC affiliate WXYZ.

Six former New York Police Department employees were charged Nov. 7 with bribery and conspiracy for engaging in medical insurance fraud related to 911 calls, according to The New York Times.  

Philip Totonelly Jr., MD, has filed a lawsuit against Carmel, N.Y.-based Putnam Hospital Center, claiming the hospital and other defendants owe him $20 million for allegedly blocking his application for admitting privileges, according to Westfair Business.

From Tenet Healthcare agreeing to pay $66 million to resolve a kickback lawsuit to NCH Healthcare System suing Leapfrog over a patient safety grade, here are the latest healthcare industry lawsuits and settlements making headlines.

A federal jury found a physician and two healthcare executives guilty of a $154 million healthcare fraud scheme in which they falsely told patients with long-term incurable diseases that they only had months to live in an effort to boost hospice profits, the U.S. Justice Department said. 

Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital and New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based Northwell Health have agreed to pay millions of dollars to resolve lawsuits related to the practice of double-booking surgeries, The Boston Globe reports. 

Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare System is suing Leapfrog Group after the company gave the healthcare system a "D" for patient safety, according to CBS affiliate WINK News. 

The Office for Civil Rights at the HHS slapped the Texas Health and Human Services Commission with a $1.6 million fine for HIPAA violations, according to a Nov. 7 news release.

Citing efforts to improve coordinated care for patients, the HHS Office of Inspector General and CMS recently proposed an overhaul to the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law.

The former CEO of Merced, Calif.-based Horisons Unlimited, a nonprofit chain of health clinics, was sentenced Nov. 4 to five years in prison for her role in a billing fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice.

Ballad Health Chief Security Officer Ken Harr filed a complaint with police against a woman who has led protests at Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., for six months, the Kingsport Times-News reports.

A federal judge found the Trump administration's "conscience protection rule" unconstitutional, saving hospitals billions in potential funding cuts and the burden of navigating the rule's overlap with existing laws to prevent patient dumping, Bloomberg reports.

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has tentatively agreed to pay $66 million to resolve a qui tam, or whistleblower, lawsuit dating back to 2016, according to Reuters.

The University of Rochester (N.Y.) Medical Center has agreed to pay $3 million to HHS' Office for Civil Rights to settle potential HIPAA violations, according to a Nov. 5 news release.

The former CMO of Ivinson Memorial Hospital is suing the Laramie, Wyo.-based hospital and its affiliated governmental entities for $38 million, according to the Gillette News Record.

Five Montana hospitals have agreed to pay $6.9 million to employees to settle allegations that they made a deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield that boosted employee health plan prices in exchange for $26 million, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.