Category: Legal & Regulatory Issues

California's COVID-19 misinformation law is dead

A California law that allowed regulators to discipline physicians for spreading misinformation related to COVID-19 has been repealed, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Oct. 2. 

Healthcare billing fraud: 10 recent cases

From a New York cardiologist agreeing to relinquish his practice as part of a settlement agreement, to a nurse practitioner convicted in a $200 million scheme, here are 10 healthcare billing fraud cases Becker’s reported since Sept. 19: 

AstraZeneca pays $425M to settle heartburn drug lawsuits

Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $425 million to settle product liability suits over two heartburn drugs, Prilosec and Nexium, according to an Oct. 3 news release.

Man accused of attacking nurse was already facing hospital assault charge

A Rhode Island man who is accused of attacking a nurse was already facing an assault charge from a different incident at another medical center, CBS affiliate WPRI reported Oct. 2.

Virginia denies HCA's proposal for new $234M hospital

The Virginia State Health Commissioner shut down HCA Healthcare’s proposal to build a $234 million hospital in Hanover County, Va., Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Oct. 3.

ChristianaCare sets aside $47M to settle C-suite whistleblower case

Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare has reserved $47 million to settle a kickback lawsuit filed by a former member of its executive team, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Sept. 29. 

FDA aims to regulate swath of lab tests

Currently, laboratory-developed tests — the basis for 70 percent of medical decisions made in the U.S. — don’t require FDA clearance. That could change in the next several years if a proposed rule to phase in more regulation of lab tests is finalized.&…

North Dakota hospital faces retaliation lawsuit from EEOC

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit against Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center in Elgin, N.D., accusing the critical access hospital of illegally discharging an African American employee after she reported racial ha…

Texas woman pleads not guilty in nurse impostor case

A 35-year-old Texas woman pleaded not guilty to the allegations that she impersonated a nurse for three years, the Laredo Morning Times reported Sept. 30.

Employees stabbed at New York hospital: Police

Two employees at Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., were stabbed by a patient Oct. 1, according to police.