Legal & Regulatory Issues

Medical device manufacturer AtriCure has agreed to pay $3.76 million to resolve civil Medicare fraud allegations that it marketed its medical devices to treat atrial fibrillation, a use not approved by the FDA, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

1. Initial development of the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act, also known as the “Lincoln Law" after its primary proponent, President Abraham Lincoln, was initially developed during the Civil War. The Act was a response to war profiteering…

The former director of the cardiovascular center at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, Mass., has been charged with embezzling donations to the hospital's fundraising program and from other hospital sources, according to a report by the Enterprise News.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has provided updates regarding some anesthesia drugs that are currently experiencing shortages, according to a news release from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

The U.S. Senate has passed a measure that would be the first step in eliminating yearly Medicare reimbursement cuts for physicians, according to a release from the American Gastroenterological Association.

Attorney General Eric Holder said federal prosecutors charged a record number of people with medical fraud in 2009, but there is still a lot more work to be done, according to a release from the Justice Department.

New laws in Idaho and Illinois give patients the right to independent review of health insurance benefit denials, accordant to a report by American Medical News.

The California Senate passed a bill to create a single-payor health system, less than a week after a special election in Massachusetts cost Senate Democrats' the 60-vote majority they needed to pass federal health reform legislation.

Four employees at Three Rivers Infusion and Pharmacy Specialists in Coshocton, Ohio, were arrested in connection with an ongoing investigation into suspected healthcare fraud at the facility, according to a news release from the Ohio Attorney General's office.

Leaders from the American Dental Association, American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association and American Veterinary Medical Association have written a letter to the Federal Trade Commission asking the agency to exclude healthcare professionals from the Red Flags Rule, which aims…