Legal & Regulatory Issues

Eighty hospitals are seeking to have the Part C (Medicare Advantage) Days Final rule vacated, alleging that HHS unlawfully reduced disproportionate hospital share payments by an estimated $3 billion to $4 billion over a nine-year period.

Chapel Hill, N.C.-based UNC Health and the state department of health have asked the North Carolina Supreme Court to hear a yearslong case involving UNC's plan to build a 40-bed hospital in the Durham, N.C., portion of Research Triangle Park,…

A former cancer research scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded $3.8 million for harassment and discrimination she said she experienced while employed at the university's medical school, AL.com reported Sept. 10.

A Wilmington, Del.-based physician has agreed to pay more than $1 million to settle allegations he violated the False Claims Act by ordering medically unnecessary durable medical equipment for Medicare and Federal Employees Health Benefits Program patients. 

A chair with a name card for Ralph de la Torre, MD, chairman and CEO of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, sat empty Sept. 12 after he skipped the bipartisan Senate committee hearing he had been subpoenaed to attend. 

The Washington state Supreme Court ruled earlier this year to hold hospitals accountable for medical errors committed by independent contractors, a Seattle-based law firm said Sept. 10. 

While there are still issues to iron out, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez authorized an interim settlement agreement for Dallas-based Steward Health Care to transition many of its remaining hospitals to its landlord, Medical Properties Trust, or applicable designated…

Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health will continue to operate a hospital in Fosston, Minn., after an arbitration panel ruled in the health system's favor in a dispute with the city. 

Many hospital executives contend with older legacy IT systems that are vulnerable to cyberattacks and may violate HIPAA requirements. While technical challenges abound, one approach is to provide detection and response capabilities through network firewalls through which legacy systems communicate.

Medical device manufacturer THD America has agreed to pay $700,000 to settle allegations it knowingly caused physicians to use incorrect codes to obtain inflated reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid.