Legal & Regulatory Issues

A physician in Michigan was convicted Sept. 22 in a more than $100 million healthcare fraud and money laundering scheme, and he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the Justice Department. 

A Texas appellate court handed Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas a win against a lawsuit targeting the insurer's mental health coverage. 

A North Carolina appeals court ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services was in the right with its awarding of a handful of prepaid three-year Medicaid contracts. 

Judge David Hurd, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, has extended a temporary restraining order on New York state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers claiming religious exemption to Oct. 12, according to news…

A new HHS Office of Inspector General report details that 20 insurers received about half of a $9.2 billion pool of suspicious Medicare payments made over the course of a year. 

Employees of Our Lady of Lourdes Regional and Ochsner Lafayette General medical centers are suing to halt COVID-19 vaccination requirements, according to The Acadiana Advocate.

A Tempe, Ariz.-based nurse assistant allegedly stole the identities of her patients to sign lease agreements on apartment rentals and purchase a new car, according to the Tempe Police Department, NBC affiliate KPNX reported Sept. 17. 

Aetna issued a lawsuit to New York City and various labor leaders over what it alleges was a "tainted" bidding process for the city's $34 billion Medicare contract.

The Justice Department criminally charged 138 people, including 42 medical professionals, for their alleged participation in healthcare schemes involving about $1.4 billion in fraudulent billings.

As more hospitals, health systems and states have mandated COVID-19 vaccination, medical workers have filed lawsuits contesting the policies.