The following is a summary of selected federal Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports of fraud and abuse enforcement activity across the country. The enforcement actions reported...more
Telemedicine companies are supposed to facilitate medically necessary services to beneficiaries over the telephone via licensed medical professionals. In reality, however, many of these “telemedicine companies” are...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 31, no. 35 (September 26, 2022) - For the third time in about 2 1/2 years, hospitals or other providers that are part of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, a large health system in New Hampshire,...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Flower Mound Hospital Partners LLC, a partially physician-owned hospital in Flower Mound, Texas, agreed to pay $18.2 million to settle its alleged violations of the False...more
Durable medical equipment (DME) is particularly important for many Medicare beneficiaries. However, companies that manufacture and sell DME need to be careful because there are strict federal regulations outlining almost...more
William F. Gould In United States v. Merino, No. 19-50291, 2021 WL 754589 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2021), the court of appeals reversed the conviction of Marina Merino of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in violation of 18...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 45 (December 21, 2020) - CMS said Dec. 18 it will audit a sample of hospitals for compliance with price transparency requirements, which take effect Jan. 1, according to MLN Connects....more
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a Special Fraud Alert on November 16, 2020 (the Alert) regarding a common practice within the pharmaceutical and medical device...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 2 (January 20, 2020) - - The HHS Office of Inspector General has updated its Work Plan, which includes an item on early discharges from inpatient rehabilitation facilities to home...more
Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its largest ever national health care fraud takedown, resulting in charges against 601 diverse defendants including...more
As LGBTQ rights have taken center stage in political and social issues, FordHarrison has been following ground-breaking litigation related to LGBTQ rights and providing updates. In the latest decision, a federal judge in...more
On December 7, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), issued a final rule that will have a widespread impact on health care service providers, medical transport providers,...more
Recently the White House Behavioral Health Parity Task Force issued guidance on the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Parity Law). The Task Force could not have known, though,...more
Even with the federal legislators poised to head home at the end of the week, two significant telehealth measures continue to work their way through the House and Senate, further evidence that telehealth services have become...more
The bill known as the “21st Century Cures,” H.R.6, would extend Civil Monetary Penalties (CMPs) to cover false claims and false statements relating to grants, contracts, and other agreements funded by the Department of Health...more