Category: Legal & Regulatory Issues

A civil trial has commenced to determine whether Seattle Children’s racially discriminated against the former medical director of one of its clinics, The Seattle Times reported Nov. 26.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has suggested hospitals may risk losing CMS funding if they fail to comply with an executive order requiring hospitals to inquire about patients’ citizenship status. 

Federal officials detained former Dallas-based Steward Health Care CEO Ralph de la Torre the week of Nov. 18 to execute a search warrant and seize his phone as part of an ongoing investigation, The Boston Globe reported Nov. 25. 

The former chief of cardiology at Trinity Health Muskegon (Mich.) Hospital accused the hospital of firing him for reporting alleged unnecessary surgeries, according to court documents. 

From UnitedHealthcare beating CMS in a star ratings lawsuit to MetroHealth’s former CEO refiling his lawsuit against the system, here are 10 healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements and legal developments that Becker’s has reported since Nov. 19: 

Albany (N.Y.) Med Health System has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Nurses Association, alleging improper use of its trademark and domain name, according to court documents accessed by Becker’s.

Aftab Hussain, a former New York pharmacy owner, has been sentenced to two to six years in prison for his role in a Medicaid fraud scheme that defrauded the state of more than $11.5 million. 

Hospitals are grappling with more social admission and patients who won’t leave at discharge, The Baltimore Banner reported Nov. 22.

East Meadow, N.Y.-based Nassau University Medical Center is filing a lawsuit against New York, accusing the state of “longstanding violations of federal Medicaid law that deprived the hospital of more than $1 billion in aid.”

Dallas-based Healthcare Associates of Texas was found guilty of knowingly submitting $2.8 million worth of fraudulent Medicare claims, the Dallas Morning Journal reported Nov. 21.