Several HCA Healthcare-affiliated hospitals in Texas filed a lawsuit Sept. 11 against Pennsylvania insurer Independence Blue Cross over alleged claim denials. The plaintiffs include Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio, St. David’s HealthCare, HCA Houston Healthcare North Cypress, The Woman’s…
Legal & Regulatory Issues
Twenty-one states, plus the District of Columbia, filed a lawsuit Sept. 2 against HHS and CMS, challenging a rule that will cut off Medicaid and CHIP federal funds for youth gender-affirming care. The rule, released in August and set to…
Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare has sued the California Nurses Association, an affiliate of National Nurses United, as well as NNU, alleging the union targeted its CEO and other executives and their families with harassment and intimidation near their homes. The…
Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, 17 researchers filed a complaint Sept. 16 against NIH, accusing the agency of infringing their First Amendment rights by allegedly rejecting funding to grants with certain words or phrases. The proposed class-action lawsuit…
Carleen Noreus, the Florida nursing school operator who pleaded guilty mid-trial in June to running a diploma-mill scheme, was sentenced Sept. 15 to 87 months in prison, according to a Sept. 16 report by the Miami Herald. The sentence, handed…
Advertisement
A federal judge on Sept. 14 blocked a rule that would cap J-1 and other visas at four years, one day before it was set to take effect. The Department of Homeland Security rule threatened to disrupt training for the…
A federal judge has dismissed Ballad Health’s lawsuit accusing UnitedHealth Group of denying and underpaying Medicare Advantage claims, ruling the dispute must go to arbitration. Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad sued UnitedHealth in October, alleging the insurer spent years denying valid…
Milwaukee-based Ascension Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital has delayed surgeries after finding unsterilized surgical equipment, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sept. 11. “Nothing is more important to us than the well-being and safety of our patients. We remain committed to the…
An HHS Office for Civil Rights investigation has found the Duke School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., violated federal law by intentionally discriminating based on race in admissions. Five things to know: 1. Duke School of Medicine was notified Sept.…
Patient rights violations remain the deficiency hospitals are cited for most often by federal surveyors in 2026, according to a Becker’s analysis of CMS inspection data. Becker’s reviewed 3,587 CMS Form 2567 statements of deficiency — the reports surveyors file…