ATLANTA – The owner of a former Henry County mental health services business will have to pay $3.8 million in restitution to the Georgia Medicaid Program for alleged Medicaid fraud. Casandra Jones, 47, of McDonough and Frederick Thrasher owned and … Read More
Stacy Holzbauer, DVM, MPH, lead author of the study and career epidemiology field officer for the CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) presented their findings. The researchers interviewed 1,626 people with community-associated C difficile between 2009 and 2015, … Read More
CLEVELAND, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi Delta ophthalmologist is charged with defrauding the state-federal Medicaid program. Dr. Harold Peltan, a 50-year-old Cleveland resident, was indicted on 17 counts of fraud Tuesday in Bolivar County. Source: Mississippi Physician Indicted for Medicaid Fraud … Read More
Insurance coverage for more than 390,000 Texas children and pregnant women is in jeopardy after Congress failed to renew authorization for a federal program. Congressional authorization for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides low-cost health insurance for children from … Read More
The owner of a Decatur compounding pharmacy entered a plea agreement with federal prosecutors Monday to charges related to charges that he conspired to defraud a federal health insurance program out of more than $10 million. John Christopher Lemley, the … Read More
AUSTIN — Under Gov. Greg Abbott, more and more top officials at Texas’ social services superagency command big salaries. Not counting staff physicians, the Health and Human Services Commission has 11 administrators making $200,000 a year or more. A decade ago, … Read More
Four Houston-area HCA hospitals have agreed to pay $8.6 million to settle allegations that they received kickbacks from several ambulance companies in exchange for Medicare and Medicaid business referrals, federal officials said Wednesday. Bayshore Medical Center, Clear Lake Regional Medical … Read More
SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — MCNA Dental, a leading national dental benefits company for Medicaid and CHIP programs, donated dental kits, backpacks and essential health supplies to hundreds of Hurricane Harvey victims during a community health fair Saturday … Read More
LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) – A Macomb County dentist facing over two dozen charges in a Medicaid fraud scheme was arrested last week in the Dominican Republic, according to Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette. David Johnson, 51, is facing 27 separate … Read More
Pfizer (PFE) lost a round in the larger fight over pharmaceutical pricing when a federal judge ruled that Texas lawmakers should be able to obtain state Medicaid rebate data about its medicines. The drug maker last year filed a lawsuit … Read More
Under Charles Smith, the longtime ally of Gov. Greg Abbott picked to lead the state’s Health and Human Services Commission, Texas’ government health care infrastructure is hemorrhaging veteran employees and facing criticism for its response to the humanitarian crisis caused … Read More
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) – Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and state Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Roderick L. Bremby announced a lawsuit Sept. 21 against a Fairfield dentist over allegations of defrauding the state’s Medicaid program. The defendant … Read More
The U.S. Justice Department has brought new charges over a scheme that it says enabled Tenet Healthcare Corp to fraudulently bill state Medicaid programs for $400 million, according to an indictment made public on Wednesday. William Moore, the ex-chief executive … Read More
LAKEWOOD, NJ — Six people who were charged in the Medicaid fraud sweeps in late June and early July have requested entry in the state’s pretrial intervention program, or PTI, according to a report. The Asbury Park Press reported the … Read More
STAMFORD — The owner of a city dental practice who used the records of a retired dentist to bill insurance companies for more than 10 years of work that was never performed has been sentenced to a year and one … Read More
The state has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against a Fairfield dentist alleging that he engaged in a long-term, pervasive scheme to defraud Connecticut’s Medicaid program out of more than $900,000. Aram Agadjanian, also known as Aram Yuri Agadzanov, … Read More
A relatively new Medicaid health homes program has caught the eye of a health-care watchdog, with a report expected by fiscal year 2019.The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General will review an optional Medicaid benefit that creates health … Read More
SAN JOSE — He ignored a judge’s order, then the state Dental Board. Now, a former San Jose dentist, whose license has been revoked, is in trouble with Santa Clara County authorities for allegedly practicing anyway — and billing insurance … Read More
A Texas man was sentenced Wednesday in federal court to 27 months in prison for hacking the computer system of a local health-care organization after he was fired from his job there. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Joy Flowers Conti … Read More
DALLAS (AP) — A North Texas physician must serve nearly 17 years in federal prison and repay $34 million in a health care services fraud case involving home visits. Dr. Noble U. Ezukanma of Fort Worth was sentenced Wednesday in … Read More
STANDARD — As quickly as they’re detected and defeated — new, more complex scams take their place. Health care is a common target. To help residents avoid these swindles, the Putnam County Community Center in Standard recently held a program … Read More
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana man convicted in a multi-million dollar health care fraud scheme in 2013 now faces federal charges — along with four other men — in the 2012 slaying of a witness in the case, federal prosecutors … Read More
More Texans are insured now than four years ago — but the state is still home to 4.5 million people without health coverage, the largest share in the country. A new United States Census Bureau report shows the percentage of … Read More
Medical identity theft is on the rise. Medical records are a hot target for hackers because, according to the FBI, medical identities are valued at 20 to 50 times more than financial identities on the black market. Data breaches appear … Read More
Medicaid agencies are having a difficult time imposing payment suspensions on providers against which there is credible allegation of fraud, according to a new government watchdog report. The report (PDF), from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of … Read More
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KWCH) A Douglas County woman ordered to repay more than $11,000 to the Kansas Medicaid Program after pleading guilty to Medicaid fraud-related charges. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says 44-year-old Marquita Diane Hutcherson pleaded guilty in July in … Read More
TRENTON – The wave of arrests in Lakewood in alleged welfare fraud schemes has prompted state officials to establish an amnesty program that will let Medicaid cheaters avoid prosecution if they come forward. But participants will be required to repay … Read More
Hurricane Harvey has left our Houston and Texas communities with significant recovery and restoration needs. As attorneys, we struggle with how we can be most helpful. It is in this spirit, that we have compiled this Special Alert to help … Read More
Santa Fe, New Mexico’s St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and its Irving, Texas-based partner Christus Health have agreed to pay $12.24 million plus interest to settle allegations that they made illegal donations to county governments under a discontinued state matching … Read More
An Illinois-based chain of dental clinics has agreed to pay nearly $1.36 million to resolve claims that it improperly billed Massachusetts’ Medicaid program for unnecessary and unjustified procedures. The settlement with Dental Dreams LLC, a privately held company that operates … Read More
HOUSTON – Texas officials are asking health insurance companies to be flexible in helping people affected by the floodwaters from Hurricane Harvey. Many of the thousands who fled their homes during the storm may no longer have access to prescription … Read More
A Mt. Vernon dentist is again facing allegations that he defrauded Medicaid, following charges filed by the office of Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley last week. Dr. Thomas Alms is maintaining his innocence, and his attorney, Roger Jones, said that … Read More
When the Justice Department announced in July that the federal government would press charges against more than 400 health care providers, including 115 doctors, in the largest health care fraud bust in history, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it … Read More
Few places need the federal government right now more than Texas does, as it begins to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Yet there are few states where the federal government is viewed with more resentment, suspicion and scorn. For Republicans, who … Read More
DentaQuest, the leading oral health company in the United States and the largest in the Medicaid space, wired one million dollars today to the Rebuild Texas Fund launched by The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. With this donation, DentaQuest joins … Read More
Health officials are temporarily making it easier for children in Texas to access safety-net insurance in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and its devastating flooding. CMS emergency provisions approved Sept. 1 will allow Texas officials to lift eligibility and cost-sharing … Read More
The owner of an Omaha mental health and substance abuse treatment company has been sent to prison and ordered to pay more than $100,000 for health care fraud. Chandra Wrightsell, who ran Evol Consulting LLC, pleaded guilty to one of … Read More
Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas may spur the state to pursue Medicaid expansion as a way to receive public funding in the storm’s aftermath, some observers say. Sarah Rosenbaum, a health policy professor at the George Washington University, told Bloomberg … Read More
The owner of multiple home health care companies and a doctor were sentenced for their roles in a nearly $60 million Medicare fraud scheme, the Department of Justice announced on August 18. Myrna S. Parcon, 62, of Dallas and Ransome … Read More
HHS issued a limited waiver of HIPAA sanctions and penalties during Hurricane Harvey, which HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD, declared a public health emergency in Texas Aug. 26 and Louisiana Aug. 28. The HIPAA Privacy Rule cannot be suspended during … Read More
