Legal & Regulatory Issues

A pair of trade groups have filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, aiming to halt the agency's new rule banning medical debt from credit reports. 

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit has filed felony neglect criminal charges against two employees at Terra Alta, W.Va.-based Hopemont Hospital following the death of a non-verbal patient in January 2024.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a bill into law on Jan. 8 aimed at improving transparency in the healthcare industry following bankrupt Dallas-based Steward Health Care's exit from the state.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said she is taking new measures to halt Medicaid fraud by medical transportation companies using fake billing schemes.

Novo Nordisk has filed a citizen petition with the FDA to block the compounding of liraglutide, a key ingredient in its diabetes and obesity medications, by outsourcing facilities. 

Missouri University Health Care, based in Columbia, Mo., has agreed to an $8 million settlement to resolve claims related to a May 2020 data breach that allegedly compromised the personal information of 3,000 patients, Top Class Actions reported Jan. 6.

Sen. Mike Crapo has been named chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees more than 50% of the federal budget, including healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. 

A New York operations manager pleaded guilty to conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to physicians in exchange for ordering unnecessary brain scans.

The lawsuit alleging Fresno, Calif.-based Community Health System misused $1 billion in tax dollars has been paused until June while the health system and the nonprofit plaintiffs negotiate privately, Fresnoland reported Jan. 6.

A group of community physicians has filed a lawsuit against Saint Agnes Medical Center, alleging the Fresno, Calif.-based hospital's new contract with Vituity violates the state's unfair competition laws and will cause disruptions to patient care.