Legal & Regulatory Issues

Inglewood, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services will pay $1.2 million to settle an investigation by state regulators for improperly balance billing HMO patients for services not covered by their insurers, according to a report by the San Francisco Gate.

Roanoke, Va.-based Carilion Clinic will sell its Center for Advanced Imaging to Lake Forest, Calif.-based InSight Health Corp., following approval from the Federal Trade Commission, according to a report by the Roanoke Times.

New Hampshire Attorney General Michael Delaney has objected to a proposed affiliation between Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health and Manchester, N.H.-based Catholic Medical Center, according to a report by the Union Leader.

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and The Christ Hospital in Mount Auburn, Ohio, have agreed to pay $108 million to settle claims they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

New templates and resources are available for anesthesiologists to help them comply with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services new Interpretive Guidelines for hospital Conditions of Participation, according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

The Hillsborough County (Fla.) Board of County Commissioners voted 7-0 in support of licensing pain management clinics in the region after the Sheriff's Office warned of a pattern of illegal drug abuse linked to clinics in the area, according to…

A Democrat opposing health reform won the special election for the late Democratic Rep. John Murtha's seat in a conservative district in Pennsylvania, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Researchers based out of The Netherlands found that in morbidly obese patients (BMI 38–60 kg m-2), lower doses of propofol are not as effective for anesthesia in patients undergoing bariatric surgery, according to a study published in the European Journal…

Concerned about the public's lingering doubts about health reform, the White House has speeded up implementation of several provisions in hopes of turning doubters into believers, according to a report by Politico.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued two notices to Tampa, Fla.-based Quality Health Plan with intent to impose intermediate sanctions and a civil monetary penalty on QHP for failure to comply with a number of administrative and contract…