The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) recently accused a group of 10 individuals of partaking in a health care fraud scheme that cost the government over $1 billion. The accused include hospital executives and diagnostic lab owners as well as billers.According...
Month: July 2020
Lab agrees to pay $12 million to settle AKS claim
A diagnostic laboratory recently agreed to pay the government almost $12 million to settle claims that the health care company violated federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) regulations. The government claimed that individuals within the diagnostic lab were illegally...
RN gets more than a year imprisonment for health care fraud
Authorities recently announced the sentencing of a registered nurse (RN) to 18 months imprisonment for her role in a health care fraud scheme. As part of the sentence, the court has also required the nurse to pay $9,500 in restitution. What was the reason for the...
CMS rollbacks and EKRA: A word of caution for diagnostic labs
The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has rolled back some regulatory provisions in response to the current coronavirus pandemic. Officials reason that these rollbacks will help to better ensure patients can get the testing, diagnosis and...
Data analytics and healthcare fraud in 2020
2020 is a year that has pushed us to embrace technology. The current coronavirus pandemic has led many to transition from working in an office or other location to working from the home. How have these changes impacted healthcare providers? In an effort to reduce the...
3 key pieces of evidence used to support healthcare fraud case
A recent healthcare fraud case out of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania involves two physicians and multiple other individuals who allegedly used illegal kickback payments to conduct and bill Medicare for unnecessary genetic testing. The government claims to have...
CMS provides guidance on eligible telehealth services for 2021
The United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a publication outlining telehealth services that will be eligible for coverage in 2021. The agency’s list includes 39 telehealth-eligible services, such as:Preventive Care and...
Doctor loses license after suffering medical emergency
A pain management physician lost consciousness while on duty. Medical staff were able to promptly intervene and successfully treat the doctor. Shortly after the incident, the Texas Medical Board suspended his medical license. The Board's action triggers two important...
Important lesson from recent arrest of NY doctor
New York state authorities recently attempted to move forward with criminal drug charges against a neurologist out of Brooklyn. The doctor states officers falsely placed him under arrest and wrongly sent him to prison for a week. Although the prosecution could not...
EKRA and COVID-19: What do labs need to know?
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have stated they will aggressively pursue health care fraud claims related to COVID-19. These agencies further clarify that they will continue to focus on prosecution for...