Under pressure from the nation’s largest dental industry organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reversed its guidance on dental procedures in May, advising dentists it may be safe to open for routine care despite the ongoing coronavirus … Read More
BEAUMONT, Texas — A 43-year-old physician practicing in Beaumont has been indicted on federal health care fraud violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Stephen J. Cox today. Grigoriy T. Rodonaia, of Port Neches, Texas, was indicted … Read More
AUSTIN, Texas — As the number of Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continues to climb, the Texas Department of Emergency Management said it’s prepared with plenty of personal protective equipment – or PPE – for hospitals across the state. Chief Nim … Read More
A mansion that belonged to a Tarrant County doctor and his wife burned down in 2017 when the couple tried to destroy evidence of their multi-million-dollar healthcare fraud scheme, federal authorities say. Mark and Melissa Kuper were indicted on charges … Read More
FRISCO, Texas — Dentist Dunia Korous is focused on making her patients comfortable. Patients will often times seeing her in a pink or brightly-colored coat because she wants to help people with white coat syndrome. “I’m the type of dentist … Read More
Washington — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be holding two webinars to assist eligible Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program providers with their applications to receive funding from the department’s Enhanced Provider Relief Fund Payment Portal. … Read More
Stanford, CA, June 19, 2020 –(PR.com)– The Department of Justice just filed its second Statement of Interest urging the Federal Court to rule against Stanford Health Care (formerly Stanford medicine, and Stanford Hospitals and Clinics). The Complaint alleges that Stanford … Read More
Dr. Tami Phan, an optometrist who operates Perfect Vision Associates in a Meyerland strip mall, temporarily closed her practice in late March after social distancing guidelines shut down non-essential services. With her bank account dwindling as bills kept coming in, … Read More
Currently, if there is one profession that invokes fear and dread in most people, it’s dentistry. Patients are always anxious and apprehensive about being poked and prodded with drills and sharp instruments during routine dental procedures. Add to that the … Read More
Nine pharmacists were charged in three separate indictments unsealed last week for their alleged participation in a $12.1 million health care fraud scheme executed in Detroit and southern Ohio. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal … Read More
The Boys & Girls Club of Jackson and Brownsville received more than 300 oral hygiene kits for the kids and their parents in what will be the first installment of donations. In partnership with Delta Dental Smile180, Helping Hands of … Read More
Paying kickbacks to doctors for referrals. Surgically implanting unneeded heart monitors. Aggravating troubled teenagers during psychiatric sessions to worsen their mental health. Health-care providers accused of bilking taxpayers by inflating Medicare or Medicaid expenses have paid billions of dollars in … Read More
Houston-based Episcopal Health Foundation has awarded $1.3 million in COVID-19 relief grants to 32 Texas organizations working to address health care and social inequities exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly $500,000 will be awarded to clinics who serve Texas’ uninsured … Read More
COVID-19 has changed dentistry faster than any crisis in the past, and we still don’t know how everything will play out. But the fact is that any dental practice can face any crisis at any time. Fire, flood, lawsuit, key … Read More
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to: – defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas– represent the State in litigation– approve public … Read More
If not for coronavirus, you’d expect your local dentist office to be doing just fine. Dentist offices tend to be stable businesses that stick around for decades, unlike restaurants that open and close frequently. Dentists earn a healthy salary — … Read More
The US FCC (Federal Communication Commission) had proposed on Tuesday a record $225 million in punitive measures against John Spiller and Jakob Meyers, two telemarketers who the US FCC claimed had allegedly made over 1 billion illegal robocalls offering fraud … Read More
Texas yesterday reported 2,504 new cases of Covid-19, the highest one-day total since the pandemic emerged. A month into its own reopening, Florida this week found 8,553 new confirmed cases, the most of any seven-day period. California’s hospitalizations are at … Read More
The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced that it charged Arrayit president March Schena for alleged involvement with fraudulent claims for allergy and COVID-19 testing. In a news release, the DOJ alleged that Schena participated in schemes to mislead investors, manipulate … Read More
Governor Greg Abbott today announced that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) will provide approximately $177 million in emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits for the month of June in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. HHSC … Read More
RICHMOND, Va. – A North Carolina woman was sentenced today to four years in prison for committing a $506,000 fraud on the Virginia Medicaid program “Medicaid is a system of trust, and Jackson deliberately exploited a loophole in the Virginia … Read More
NEWARK, N.J. – The owners of two clinical laboratories in Texas and Mississippi today admitted their roles in a scheme to pay kickbacks in exchange for referrals of patient DNA samples and genetic tests to the laboratories, U.S. Attorney Craig … Read More
BOISE – Karina Renee Moore, 48, of Eagle, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for health care fraud, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Moore to serve three years … Read More
After moving to Dallas in 1974, former investigative reporter Byron Harris spent his career at ABC affiliate, WFAA, reporting on everything from Medicaid fraud to government secrets at Area 51. He won two Peabody Awards, four Edward R. Murrow Awards … Read More
After nearly two months at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erica Schoenradt was making plans in May to see her dentist for a checkup. Then she got a notice from Swish Dental that the cost of her next visit … Read More
HOOD RIVER, OR (KPTV) – An Oregon woman turned herself into U.S. Marshals on Thursday for allegedly stealing more than $22,000 in checks payable from a dental practice in Hood River, according to FBI officials. Andrea D. Jacobs, 49, turned … Read More
A Brookfield dentist has reached an $82,500 settlement with the state for violations of the False Claims Act. The Office of the Attorney General investigated Rawa Hassan for overcharges of dental restoration fillings that the state alleged she did not … Read More
A couple searched obituaries in their scheme to steal millions of dollars from the Medicaid program in North Carolina, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. Latisha Harron, 44, and Timothy Mark Harron, 50, face federal charges after prosecutors say they … Read More
AUSTIN,TX—Austin Creative Alliance, working to advance, connect and advocate for Austin’s arts, cultural, and creative communities to strengthen and protect the character, quality of life, and economic prosperity of our region, has compiled a list of resources and funding projects … Read More
Texas hospitals are suing patients for unpaid medical bills, a practice that has continued even as the coronavirus pandemic sends unemployment skyrocketing and spurred the state Supreme Court to pause debt collections and eviction proceedings earlier this year. Hundreds of … Read More
According to recent reports by the Urban Institute and the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than 1 million Texans are projected to lose their health insurance because of the economic recession in the U.S. caused by the coronavirus. That’s in addition … Read More
Laci Crosson’s son doesn’t have pills to manage his attention deficit disorder. Betty Canales is worried about how she’ll pay for her diabetes medication. Stevie Smith saw a doctor after she was furloughed — and paid more than double her … Read More
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton is the lawyer for the State of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to: defend the laws and the Constitution of the State of Texas represent the State in litigation approve public bond … Read More
Texas health officials made a key change Thursday to how they report data about the coronavirus, distinguishing antibody tests from standard viral tests and prompting slight increases in the state’s oft-cited daily statistic known as the positivity rate. The positivity … Read More
With stay-at-home orders ending and Texas entering Phase 2 of its reopening, optometrists and dentists are seeing business start to bounce back. Jenna Clifton, office manager of Tomball Vision Clinic, said the clinic was closed for two days during the … Read More
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has filed a lawsuit against Brian C. Moore of Maumelle and Brown-Stingfellow, D.D.S., a dental practice in North Little Rock known as Capital Dental Center. The lawsuit alleges the dental … Read More
As both a health care worker and a small-business owner, the coronavirus pandemic hit Austin pediatrician Ari Brown especially hard. “The public perception of health care right now is: You guys are inundated, and it’s like being in ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’” … Read More
Like other small businesses around The Woodlands, dentists were forced to close their doors and are beginning to reopen now that Gov. Gregg Abbott has given them the go ahead. However, while strategies are in place to keep the number … Read More
AUSTIN — A little-known Frisco company whose owner has lofty goals to buy the Dallas Cowboys has won a $295.3 million state contract to track down Texans potentially infected with the coronavirus, though both Republican and Democratic lawmakers raise questions … Read More
