The Federal Trade Commission approved a final consent order Aug. 25 that resolves antitrust concerns tied to Ascension’s $3.9 billion acquisition of ASC operator Amsurg. The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the final order after a public comment period, according…

The Department of Homeland Security is proposing a new $103,265 fee for H-1B petitions, just months after a federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s earlier attempt to impose a similar charge. The rule, published Aug. 25 in the Federal…

Tennessee-based in-home care provider Monogram Health has agreed to pay $2.4 million to settle allegations that it caused the submission of false diagnosis codes to boost Medicare Advantage payments.  From Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2023, Monogram allegedly knowingly…

A union health and welfare benefit fund filed a class action antitrust lawsuit Aug. 19 against Columbus-based OhioHealth, alleging the system’s contracts with insurers blocked lower-cost plan designs and inflated what payers paid for care, according to court documents accessed…

More than 200 healthcare organizations urged CMS not to finalize proposed limits on remote monitoring, warning the changes would disrupt care for about 1 million Medicare beneficiaries who manage chronic conditions from home. In a sign-on letter to CMS Administrator…

EmblemHealth issued New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System’s independent practice association a cease-and-desist letter regarding its decision to stop accepting new patients from some of the insurer’s government-backed plans. The insurer sent Vincent Tammaro, Mount Sinai’s executive vice president…

Senate Democrats on Aug. 17 called on federal officials to end Medicaid enrollee data sharing with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Edward Markey, D-Mass., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Chris Van…

The pretrial oral agreements over Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital’s policy of cognitive testing for physicians over age 70 will begin Aug. 27, CT Insider reported Aug. 19. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the hospital in 2020 over…

The Justice Department and the State of Illinois filed a complaint in intervention on Aug. 17 alleging that a Chicago-area podiatry practice and its billing companies knowingly submitted fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid, netting more than $5.2 million in…

Boston-based Harvard University Medical School has agreed to pay $53 million to settle civil lawsuits that accused the school of negligence in its handling of donated human remains. The case centers on the conduct of Cedric Lodge, a former Harvard…