Legal News

Stories about physicians and other healthcare professionals involved in lawsuits—as either a plaintiff or a defendantor accused of breaking the law. Various legal updates or unusual stories in the news may land here.

ransomware cybercrime

Hackers were inside an Iowa hospital’s network for two weeks

St. Anthony Regional Hospital confirmed patient data was taken by cybercriminals, but the August incident is still being investigated.

Stark Law Kickback Erlanger

Pharmacy fined $39M for fraud after 7-day trial

Florida-based Assured RX was found to be complicit in billing a Connecticut health plan $10M, sending kickbacks to co-conspirators who formerly worked for the state. 

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Cardiologist receives 158 years to life in prison for drugging, sexually assaulting multiple women

“You hurt our society," the judge said as he announced the sentencing in front of a packed courtroom. "It is a darker place because of you.” 

UnitedHealth Group - 2

Feds make it official: Change data breach was the largest in healthcare history, impacting 100M

Updated reporting from HHS shows UnitedHealth Group's estimate that roughly one-third of people in the U.S. would be affected was correct. 

Chicago - Circa May 2018: Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters signage and logo.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of New York sued over ‘ghost networks’

Thousands of patients have filed a class-action lawsuit against the insurer for issuing directories of providers who were out-of-network and did not take BCBS health plans. 

child in shock from noise trauma

Surprise active shooter drill at children’s psychiatric hospital results in $13M for victims

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services failed to notify staff and law enforcement that a simulation at the state-run facility was taking place, resulting in chaos. 

DOJ U.S. Department of Justice HQ

CMS contractor takes $1.2M loss after data breach, DOJ lawsuit

Federal Data Solutions allegedly failed to encrypt screenshots of patient data, stored on a server being paid for with Medicare funds.

Chicago - Circa May 2018: Blue Cross Blue Shield headquarters signage and logo.

Blue Cross settles largest healthcare antitrust case in history for $2.8B

The settlement also includes an agreement for operational changes at all of the insurer's 33 independent partners.

Around the web

Compensation for heart specialists continues to climb. What does this say about cardiology as a whole? Could private equity's rising influence bring about change? We spoke to MedAxiom CEO Jerry Blackwell, MD, MBA, a veteran cardiologist himself, to learn more.

The American College of Cardiology has shared its perspective on new CMS payment policies, highlighting revenue concerns while providing key details for cardiologists and other cardiology professionals. 

As debate simmers over how best to regulate AI, experts continue to offer guidance on where to start, how to proceed and what to emphasize. A new resource models its recommendations on what its authors call the “SETO Loop.”