Legal & Regulatory Issues

An Oklahoma nurse pleaded guilty to replacing pain medication with tap water.

Providers, payers and other interested parties have their eyes on the 5th Circuit Appeals Court in the next phase of the ongoing legal battle over the No Surprises Act, Bloomberg Law reported Sept. 5. 

Officials at Memphis, Mo.-based Scotland County Hospital are attempting to have dismissed aspects of a lawsuit filed against an executive and the hospital itself by its former CEO, according to a Sept. 6 Missouri Independent report.

A federal jury convicted a Chicago physician for his role in a $9.5 million healthcare fraud scheme. 

From Bon Secours Mercy Health suing Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Virginia over alleged unpaid claims, to Adena Health System facing a proposed class-action overtime suit, here are nine hospital lawsuits and settlements Becker's has reported since Aug. 25:

A Kentucky nurse is facing 52 criminal charges after she was found leaving a nursing home intoxicated and replacing morphine with water and blue food coloring, the Lexington Herald Leader reported Sept. 4.

The former chief nursing officer of St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif., is suing the hospital, alleging her requests to install barriers meant to prevent suicides were dismissed by leaders, the Los Angeles Times reported Sept. 3. 

Lompoc (Calif.) Valley Medical Center has agreed to pay $5 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medi-Cal related to Medicaid Adult Expansion under the ACA. 

A former patient filed a lawsuit against Milwaukee-based Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin claiming clinicians left part of a surgical drain in his leg after an operation, WISN reported Aug. 31.

CMS said all federal independent dispute resolution processes are temporarily suspended in response to a Texas judge's latest ruling in a series of lawsuits challenging provisions of the No Surprises Act.