A recent study of state apology laws by three Vanderbilt University researchers concludes, among other things, that “from the perspective of physicians, apology laws are almost certainly detrimental,” increasing the frequency...more
Regional Care Hospital fired Marie Gillispie because she was outspoken in telling hospital management that it was required to report an incident of patient dumping and had violated EMTALA by failing to do so. At least that’s...more
The plaintiff offered the Eighth Circuit several reasons to rule that he needn’t arbitrate claims against his father’s nursing home. But, figuratively swimming against the juridical current, the Eighth Circuit rejected all...more
The issue comes up a lot in personal injury cases: may the defendant introduce the discounted amount the provider actually accepted for medical services as evidence to be weighed against the undiscounted bill the plaintiff...more
A new Fifth Circuit opinion explains the difference between offering a benefit in order to induce a Medicare referral and offering it in the expectation of a referral. The difference is important because the former is a...more
Brandi’s parents allege that they rushed her to the Opelousas General Hospital ER and asked Dr. Z to administer stroke medication, but Dr. Z declined, administering anti-seizure medication instead. Frustrated, they...more
Rule 9(b) requires a whistleblower alleging fraud to “state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud.” Tom Bingham provided the particularity, but his case was nevertheless dismissed because of the way he came...more
California struck the most recent blow against surprise out-of-network medical bills. Surprise bills are different from the bills you get when you knowingly choose an out-of-network provider. Those are painful, but they...more
They seem to come on an almost weekly basis: judicial rejections of arbitration provisions in nursing home contracts. The Sept. 22 attack by the Florida Supreme Court is the latest, and one of the harshest.
When Juan...more
The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have sided with Teledoc, Inc., one of the country’s biggest telemedicine companies, in its legal battle with the Texas Medical Board. The two agencies filed a joint...more
A recent Fourth Circuit decision answers this riddle, “How can a contractor knowingly submit a false claim to the government without violating the False Claims Act (FCA)?” Give up? The answer is blindingly obvious—once...more
Does the CMS star rating system reward hospitals for serving the affluent and punish those that serve the poor? The answer is a resounding yes, according to a recently published analysis by Bloomberg BNA. The analysis...more
On September 1 the Seventh Circuit affirmed dismissal of three of a whistleblower’s four fraud allegations against a mental health clinic, ruling that the allegations were based on the whistleblower’s subjective judgment...more
The Massachusetts federal district court is hands-down winner of the August award for strangest regulatory interpretation of the month.
The interpretation came in the context of denial of Omnicare’s summary judgment...more
A California appellate court has declared physician Visha Dev the loser in his dating contest with Blue Shield Life and Blue Shield California. The contest arose when the Blues moved for summary judgment in Dev’s action...more
An ambulance service may be liable for damages arising from sexting by a monkey it employed, the Second Circuit ruled on August 29.
Actually, the monkey was a man, but the court sided with a female employee who sued the...more
The Energizer Bunny has nothing on the whistleblower claim of Robert Cunningham. Here’s what’s happened since Robert files his qui tam action against Millennium Labs back in 2009: the government declined to intervene; seven...more
You can tell by its name that you won’t like the Medicare “self-disallowance” rule. The federal district court for D.C. didn’t like it, either, and gave a group of Banner Health hospitals summary judgment that the rule was...more
An Eighth Circuit decision provides a reminder that the False Claims Act doesn’t forbid submitting false claims: it forbids knowingly submitting false claims. That made all the difference in an appeal of summary judgment in...more
The White House is reviewing proposed regulations to ease restrictions on certain financial arrangements between hospitals and physicians and on certain transactions between providers and patients. The proposed regulations,...more
From its inception the 340B program has been the subject of disputes between drug manufacturers and their safety-net hospital customers. On August 12 HHS proposed an administrative process for resolving those...more
A seller extends $90 million in credit to a customer, secured by letters of credit. When the debtor can’t pay, the seller discovers the instruments are fakes, forged by its own employee. Can the seller recover under a...more
If you bring a case in federal court alleging violation of federal law, you might assume that you needn’t be concerned with procedural requirements of state law. But you could be wrong. Just ask Cynthia...more
The Joint Commission made a big splash when it issued its “Update: Texting Orders” back in the spring. That Update rescinded the accrediting organization’s long-standing prohibition on sending physician orders via text...more
Who gets to decide who gets to decide whether a claim can be arbitrated? That was the question before the California Supreme Court—not whether a claim can be arbitrated, but who gets to decide that question? Is it an...more