Legal & Regulatory Issues

Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami has experienced a decline in number of heart surgeries performed annually that may jeopardize its status as a state-approved provider for the most critically ill children, according to a Miami Herald report.

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Halifax Health in Daytona Beach, Fla., to pay up to $600 million in damages and penalties in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging Medicare fraud and kickbacks, according to a Daytona Beach News-Journal report.

With estimates claiming hundreds of thousands of employed Californians will qualify for Medicaid in the coming years, state lawmakers are pushing a bill that would fine employers up to $6,000 for each full-time worker who qualifies and enrolls in Medicaid…

Congress' committees of jurisdiction are currently considering massive changes to the physician payment system, including repealing the sustainable growth rate and creating a stable period of payments, according to Tony Mira, president and CEO of Anesthesia Business Consultants.

North Carolina lawmakers have introduced a bill that would significantly decrease tax breaks nonprofits receive for sales and use taxes, according to a Charlotte Business Journal report.

A federal judge has lifted a 1979 injunction that prevented public access to a database of Medicare claims — an action that may increase scrutiny over how providers treat patients and charge for services, according to a Thomson Reuters report.

The California Assembly is debating legislation that would require nonprofit hospitals to prove they provide enough charity care to justify their tax-exempt status, according to an Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News report.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Tennessee Board of Pharmacy are investigating seven adverse events reported from steroid injections compounded by Main Street Family Pharmacy in Newbern, Tenn.

Oregon lawmakers have introduced a bill that would allow coordinated care organizations to remove board members if they refuse to cooperate with healthcare transformation efforts, according to a Statesman Journal report.

The following investigations, lawsuits, settlements or other legal developments involving healthcare providers were reported within the past month, beginning with the most recent.