During our onsite inspections, we identified deficiencies in areas related to life safety or emergency preparedness at 18 of the 20 nursing homes that we audited. Specifically, we found 235 deficiencies with life safety requirements related to building exits and … Read More
Cash-strapped rural Texas hospitals have been closing at an alarming rate, but health care advocates are warning that the trend likely will accelerate under a proposed rule change for federal Medicaid funding that’s also forecast to deal big financial blows … Read More
The state of Texas is trying to give away a business opportunity valued at roughly $10 billion. To win, all an applicant has to do is score highly on something like a standardized test. The applicants — in this case, … Read More
CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a physician on fraud charges for approving medically unnecessary tests that were billed to Medicare. While working for Chicago-based Grand Medical Clinic Inc., DR. OMAR GARCIA authorized percutaneous allergen tests for … Read More
Tenet Healthcare Corporation and its affiliated hospital Desert Regional Medical Center (DRMC), a general medical and surgical hospital located in Palm Springs, California, have agreed to pay $1.41 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by … Read More
NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man today admitted participating in a conspiracy to pay and accept kickbacks in exchange for medically unnecessary prescriptions, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Zachary Ohebshalom, 34, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded … Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — Yes, visiting the dentist is as much fun as, well, a root canal, but skipping out can be costly over the long run. While how well you brush and floss are the biggest parts of dental health, … Read More
A Marshfield, Mo. man whose wife was sentenced earlier for her role in a Medicaid fraud scheme involving their dental clinics was sentenced in federal court for failing to pay over payroll taxes and collecting unemployment benefits he wasn’t entitled … Read More
A patient recruiter was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison for receiving more than $1 million in illegal kickback payments. Dominic Trumbo, 45, who owned a consulting agency in Virginia, recruited – or paid others to recruit – more … Read More
The House on Tuesday passed a resolution officially condemning the Trump administration’s new Medicaid block grant plan. The non-binding resolution won’t have much practical effect. It passed on a mostly party line vote of 224-189 and will almost certainly see … Read More
The former operators of a failed multi-state nursing home chain, which had an office in Bergen County, stole more than $2 million from employees’ paychecks that was supposed to pay for their health insurance, according to a lawsuit. The suit … Read More
A collaboration between the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will provide comprehensive women’s health services through a Medicaid demonstration waiver over the next five years. The Healthy Texas Women demonstration waiver … Read More
A Kinston family dentist and former Lenoir County Board of Health board chairman has administrative hearings this month in Lenoir County District Court on insurance fraud and aiding and abetting forgery charges. Dr. Richard “Ricky” Todd Carlyle, 54, whose address … Read More
A Texas man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison last week for his role in a complex, $9.6 million scheme that tricked U.S. military service members into ordering unnecessary prescriptions and testing at the expense of two U.S. … Read More
LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A former NFL player who played for Texas Tech from 1995 to 1998 was arrested on Thursday, charged with submitting fraudulent health reimbursement claims. Investigators with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) say Willie Montae Reagor … Read More
AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – The Barrio Wellness Clinic will be offering free medical and dental screenings for adults and children in Amarillo this Saturday. The screenings will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at noon, and it will be held … Read More
The Trump administration wants to dramatically alter the way the federal government gives money to states for Medicaid. On Thursday, Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced a new pathway for states to receive … Read More
Earlier this month, an Alaska dentist was found guilty of Medicaid fraud and endangering his patients. But before he will be sentenced for his crimes, Dr. Seth Lookhart is going to California. To learn how to be a farmer. On … Read More
Texas women have a healthcare problem. In 2017, Houston Public Media reported that 17 percent of Texas women live in poverty. In 2018, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that three in 10 Texas women are low-income, and almost one in … Read More
A report released yesterday by the Protecting Health Coverage in Louisiana Task Force shows that nearly half a million Louisianans would lose healthcare if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is overturned in the Texas v. United States case. Gov. John … Read More
Mary Jell went to Mexico for low-cost dental work. She came home with new implants and a $10,000 abscess in her credit account. The 89-year-old Peoria woman said after she left Cordova Dental Care in Los Algodones, the office began … Read More
Texas Health and Human Services recently awarded DentaQuest a contract to continue providing dental managed care to enrollees in Texas Medicaid and CHIP programs. DentaQuest has been a partner to the State of Texas since 2012, providing Medicaid and CHIP … Read More
Paul Mathieu, MD, of New Jersey, was recently sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud Medicare and Medicaid of $30 Million. He was convicted in May on charges of health care fraud, wire … Read More
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local woman bought a grill at the Corpus Christi Trade Center. Not the kind you barbecue on — the kind for your teeth. And, a year later, she’s having to dish out a lot of … Read More
During an episode of Tenth Talks — a Texas Tribune video series on the next 10 years of Texas — Dr. Courtney N. Phillips, the executive director of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, talks about what it will … Read More
The Texas A&M University College of Dentistry has dedicated its new Clinic and Education Building in Dallas. The university says the 160,000-square-foot, nine-story facility will enable the dental school to increase under-served patients’ access to care and shift from a … Read More
Developed in the mid-1980s, the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard has been the way many medical professionals have stored and transferred images for three decades now. This commonly used medical records system is also responsible for leaking … Read More
The Department of Justice recovered over $3 billion from False Claims cases in the 2019 fiscal year, with $2.6 billion coming form healthcare fraud schemes. In a recent announcement, the Justice Department reported that the billions of dollars stemming from … Read More
A doctor and the former owner of a Long Beach hospital was sentenced this morning to 15 months in federal prison for taking part in a long-running health care fraud scheme where he authorized sham contracts that concealed over $30 … Read More
NIXA, Mo. — A Nixa physician was indicted today by federal attorneys for a 2.4 million dollar health care fraud scheme. Prosecutors say 63-year-old Randall Halley wrote prescriptions for fentanyl spray and receiving thousands of dollars in return from a … Read More
To fix some crowding in her teeth, Taylor Weakley, an environmental scientist in Denver, ordered teeth aligners two years ago from SmileDirectClub, a start-up she had seen advertised on social media. At $1,850, the products were cheaper than braces, and … Read More
LONGVIEW, Texas — A Texas man who operated a private ambulance service must serve 30 months in federal prison and pay more than $750,000 in restitution after being convicted for fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid. Joseph Valdie Kimble, who operated … Read More
Acting United States Attorney A. Lance Crick announced today that ResMed Corp., a manufacturer of durable medical equipment (DME) for sleep apnea and other sleep-related disorders, has agreed to pay more than $37.5 million to resolve allegations under the False … Read More
A dentist recorded working on a patient while on a hoverboard was found guilty of Medicaid fraud and endangering patients Friday. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton found Dr. Seth Lookhart’s guilty on 46 counts. Lookhart was found to have … Read More
A federal judge sentenced a former pharmaceutical sales representative from San Antonio to more than two years in prison Thursday and ordered her to pay $1.7 million in restitution for her part in a national $8.8 million bribery/health care fraud … Read More
A Worcester dentist, his office manager and a Chelmsford dentist are accused of defrauding the Massachusetts Medicaid program, known as MassHealth, federal prosecutors say. A grand jury in Boston indicted the trio Thursday. Dr. Anthony DiStefano III, 70, of Worcester, … Read More
A federal jury found a Texas rheumatologist guilty today for his role in a $325 million health care fraud scheme in which he falsely diagnosed patients with life-long diseases and treated them with toxic medications on the basis of that … Read More
In collaboration with The Smile Generation, the Mobile Dental Clinic made 15 stops across the United States, during which 422 Smile Generation-trusted dentists and volunteers provided comprehensive oral health care to patients in need. Adult and pediatric patients received same-day … Read More
SmileDirectClub is having yet another news-filled week, announcing it will begin selling its teeth-straightening products to dentists and orthodontists. Also, the company scored a legal victory with a New Jersey court finding it does not engage in the “corporate practice … Read More
Nearly everyone in Texas is affected by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In 2018, Attorney General Ken Paxton led a 20-state coalition lawsuit against the federal government which claimed the ACA’s individual mandate was unconstitutional. A Texas federal judge ruled … Read More
