Legal & Regulatory Issues

Employees at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., have sued the hospital for changing their retirement plans and violating a 2011 collective bargaining agreement, according to a Kansas City Business Journal report.  

A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction and 10-year sentence of Mehmood Patel, MD, a Louisiana cardiologist who was found guilty of 51 counts of healthcare fraud in 2008.

Radiologist Jack L. Baker, MD, has agreed to pay the United States $650,000 to resolve claims that he paid kickbacks to physicians to induce referrals to Fairmont Diagnostic Center and Open MRI, an imaging center he owned and operated in…

Massachusetts' new healthcare law is changing the way medical malpractice lawsuits are handled in an effort to bring down healthcare costs — a strategy hailed by the state's major physician and attorney groups alike.  

A radiology group has sued St. Peter's Hospital in Helena, Mont., claiming it abused its "monopoly power" by refusing to let the group practice at the hospital, according to a Billings Gazette report.

A recent review from the Office of Inspector General (pdf) found that CMS overpaid $4.6 million for Medicare Part B prescription drugs in the second quarter of its fiscal year, but under a proposed drug price substitution policy, CMS could…

Some Kentucky physicians say tougher prescription drug standards may force them to choose between appropriately treating a patient and abiding by regulations, according to The Associated Press.

Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney named Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as vice presidential nominee last week. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Mr. Ryan is heavily involved in fiscal policy and has outlined plans to address the growing costs…

Nashville, Tenn.-based CareAll Management — a home healthcare agency — has agreed to pay the government $9.375 million to resolve allegations that it overbilled Medicare.

CMS is seeking comment on a proposed ICD-10 industry readiness assessment (pdf), which will be used to understand each sector's progress toward ICD-10 compliance.