Legal & Regulatory Issues

The Montana Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Great Falls (Mont.) Clinic in a case regarding the legality of the clinic's inclusion of a non-compete clause in physician contracts, according to a report by the Great Falls Tribune.

Varian. V. Scott of Miami, Fla., has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison on charges of healthcare fraud and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud for his role in a $1.1 million Medicaid fraud scheme, according to a U.S.…

Plans for new physician-owned hospitals would have little or no chance of beating a proposed ban if current language in the Senate and House reform bills is passed, according to the executive of the national physician hospitals organization.

Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services in Camden N.J. has agreed to pay $7.95 million to resolve allegations that the hospitals defrauded Medicare by using outlier payments to inflate charges, according to a release by the Justice Department.

B. Bennie Perkins of Plymouth, Minn., the owner of a home healthcare company pleaded guilty in federal court to obtaining $74,000 from Medicaid fraudulently by causing submission of reimbursement claims for personal care assistant services that, in truth, were not…

The Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services have announced the expansion of Strike Force operations to Brooklyn, N.Y., Tampa, Fla., and Baton Rouge, La., in the fifth, sixth and seventh phases of a targeted criminal, civil and administrative…

A representative of the U.S. Department of Justice said he department will work with hospitals and other providers to create models of clinical integration that do not violate antitrust laws, according to a report by AHA News Now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has indicated that he will drop a proposal in the health reform bill to allow people ages 55-64 to buy into the Medicare program, according to a report by the Hill.

A newly proposed amendment to the Senate healthcare reform bill would postpone eliminating Medicare consultation codes that is scheduled for Jan. 1, according to a release from a coalition of the AMA and several specialty groups.

Natchez (Miss.) Regional Medical Center has sued its former management company and two former top executives for $46 million, according to a report by the Clarion-Ledger.