Legal & Regulatory Issues

An investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Health has helped Southwest Regional Medical Center in Waynesburg, Pa., disprove allegations accusing the hospital of knowingly providing substandard care.  

A federal judge has dismissed Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Service's suit attempting to block the sale of the bankrupt Christ Hospital in Jersey City, N.J. to CarePoint Health in Hudson City, N.J., according to a Star-Ledger report.

A former employee has filed a class-action lawsuit against Epic Systems, accusing the electronic health record giant of violating labor laws by denying eligible workers overtime pay.

The Manhattan U.S. attorney's office announced Thursday it has charged 49 current and former Russian diplomats and their spouses with defrauding Medicaid, according to a report from the New York Times.

Since it launched in October, the federal exchange website, HealthCare.gov, has experienced numerous glitches, frustrating consumers and becoming a prime target of criticism from the healthcare reform law's opponents.

State health officials have said they haven't been able to enroll people deemed eligible for Medicaid through HealthCare.gov because the federal exchange site is transmitting incomplete information, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The American Hospital Association is urging the House of Representatives to pass the Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act, which would provide continued funding for the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education program for the next four fiscal years.

U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced whistle-blowers filing under one of 22 statutes covered by the department can now file the complaint online.

A new emergency rule in Louisiana has introduced penalties including a $5,000 maximum fine and possible removal from the program for physicians who try to influence their patients' choice of Medicaid managed-care plans.

The Office for Civil Rights, the agency responsible for ensuring HIPAA privacy standards are being met, has not been meeting all federal requirements in its oversight and enforcement of the law, according to a report from HHS' Office of the…