Legal & Regulatory Issues

The former CEO, CNO and finance director of Palo Verde Hospital in Blythe, Calif., have filed a federal lawsuit against the hospital's board president, two board members and the healthcare district, according to a Palo Verde Valley Times report.

Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare and Health Management Associates, based in Naples, Fla., have been accused of illegally paying a clinic in Georgia for hospital referrals, according to a Bloomberg report.

Among registered voters, 47 percent say they will be less likely to vote for members of Congress who support shutting down the federal government if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act isn't defunded, according to a poll conducted by…

Approximately 250 former patients who received heart care at St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore may receive a total settlement of $32.5 million after a cardiologist allegedly implanted unnecessary stents in their hearts, according to a Baltimore Business Journal report.

Data collection under the healthcare reform law's Physician Payment Sunshine Act begins tomorrow, Aug. 1.

Pfizer has agreed to pay a settlement of $490.9 million to resolve allegations of illegally marketing a kidney transplant drug.

The Obama administration's decision to delay the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's employer insurance mandate by one year will cost the government $12 billion, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

The Congressional Budget Office has begun reviewing a bill that would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from implementing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act but cannot determine its budgetary impact at this time.

CMS has announced that total Medicare savings on drugs due to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act thus far have amounted to $7 billion for 6.6 million people.

A bipartisan bill recently introduced in the House of Representatives would require healthcare providers to disclose Medicare payments to enable public comparison. Introduced by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and co-sponsored by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the Medicare Data Access for…