Legal & Regulatory Issues

Miami-Dade County, Fla., residents Michel De Jesus Huarte, Alyd Dazza, Ricco Dazza, Monika Blacio, Dayron Porrata and Wally Proenza were sentenced for various offenses including conspiracy to commit Medicare fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aggravated identity theft, which…

"The prospect of being hanged focuses the mind wonderfully," Samuel Johnson said. Physician-owned hospitals, which would be stopped dead under the health reform bills, have therefore monitored the bill-making process oh-so very carefully.

Congressional Democrats appear to have postponed efforts to pass health reform following the loss of their 60-vote, filibuster-proof Senate majority in a special election in Massachusetts, according to a report by the New York Times.

A bill has been introduced in the Illinois Senate that would significantly increase the cost of licensing fees for ambulatory surgical facilities and hospitals in Illinois, according to Julie Sullivan, a healthcare attorney with McGuireWoods.

Georgia lawmakers are working to find a way to avoid a hospital tax that has been proposed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to cover Medicaid losses, according to a report by the Telegraph.

New York Governor David Paterson is hoping to add tighter restrictions on medical device and pharmaceutical industry sales representatives' relationships with physicians to his proposed 2010-2011 budget, according to a report in the Massachusetts Medical Devices Journal.

Lisset Lombera and Yamilet Cardenas, both of Miami-Dade County, were sentenced to prison and supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, according to a Department of Justice news release.

The United States' civil False Claims Act suit against drug manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and two of its subsidiaries suggests increased scrutiny by the federal government in reviewing discount and rebate arrangements between drugmakers and healthcare providers, according to Kristian…

The Hill, which covers Washington politics, has compiled a list of 10 strategic and tactical decisions by Democrats that caused their health reform legislation to stall, making it less likely to pass:

The former owners of 292-bed Los Angeles City of Angels Medical Center have agreed to pay $10 million to settle a Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud lawsuit, according to a release by the U.S. Justice Department.