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HHS-OCR recently announced two HIPAA violation settlements with significant financial penalties in the space of a week, and both covered entities and business associates should take notice.  First was the settlement involving Lahey Clinic Hospital, Inc. (Lahey), which agreed to a settlement that stemmed from a 2011 incident where an unencrypted laptop was stolen from Read more →

On October 30, 2015, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued important changes to the Stark regulations. CMS also added two new Stark exceptions – one for hospital incentive payments for recruitment of non-physician practitioners, and the other changed certain rules for physician owned hospitals, including how the percentage of physician ownership will Read more →

In 1986 the Civil False Claims Act (“FCA”) was amended to increase penalties from $2,000 to between $5,000 and $10,000 per false claim. In 1999, the penalties were raised to their present level of between $5,500 and $11,000 per false claims.  As a result of budget legislation just passed, the FCA penalties as well as Read more →

In a case involving a large physician practice represented by the Florida health law firm of Nicholson & Eastin, LLP, CMS reversed its decision to revoke the physician practice’s Medicare billing privileges, and immediately reinstated the billing privileges retroactive to the date of revocation. After deciding to cease operating its on-site lab operations, our Florida Read more →

Only weeks after Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced that the government was going to take a harder line against individuals in corporate fraud cases, the government has charged the former CEO of Warner Chilcott. Carl Reichel was arrested in connection with a health care fraud, false claims and kickback investigation that has also lead Read more →