Detroit Medical Center is the lone defendant in a class-action lawsuit brought by registered nurses in the Detroit area, as seven other health systems agreed to a settlement of $48 million combined, according to a Crain's Detroit Business report.
Legal & Regulatory Issues
Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health has agreed to pay $46 million in an out-of-court settlement to resolve allegations of false and improper billing for anesthesia services.
Johnson & Johnson and three of its subsidiaries have agreed to pay more than $2.2 billion to the federal government and several states to resolve civil and criminal charges of healthcare fraud.
Of those potentially eligible for coverage under the reform law, 17 percent of Americans have visited the health insurance exchanges online, over the phone, in person or via mail, according to a survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund.
SSM Health Care of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City has agreed to a settlement of $475,000 to resolve allegations the company billed Medicare for inpatient services that should have been billed as outpatient services.
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Breaking with other circuit courts' recent decisions, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled healthcare reform's so-called "contraception mandate" may violate business owners' religious freedom.
Many health insurers are cancelling individual insurance plans because the policies aren't "grandfathered" and don't meet PPACA requirements, according to the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans.
Despite the technical issues with the federal exchange, 38 percent of Americans view the reform law favorably, a new poll has fond.
During the first month of open enrollment in several states, significantly more people have applied for Medicaid as opposed to private insurance coverage through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exchanges, according to a report from The Washington Post.
Medicare inappropriately paid $23 million for services recorded as rendered after beneficiaries had died, despite CMS safeguards meant to prevent such payments, according to an HHS Office of Inspector General report.