Last month, the Federal Trade Commission voted to ban non-compete agreements for workers in for-profit companies. The move upends non-compete laws across the country and has healthcare workers, as well as those who employ them, wondering about its implications. Non-competes are common in physician and mid-level practitioner employment agreements. Since the FTC non-compete ban was announced,...
Compliance Update
AHCA Health Care Clinic License road map
If you seek to receive reimbursement by insurance payors in Florida, either through federal programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare), or commercial insurance (including Personal Injury Protection and Bodily Injury), you will either need a Health Care Clinic License or qualify as exempt under one of the exemptions. The process of getting a Health Care Clinic License is tedious but not...
Lab owners to pay $13.6M in False Claims Act whistleblower case
A Missouri laboratory and its three owners have been ordered to pay more than $13.6 million to settle charges they violated the False Claims Act – the federal government’s primary tool for civil enforcement. Jerry, Jerrod and Joel W. Murphy, owners of Gamma Healthcare Inc., were accused of submitting false claims to Medicare for lab tests that were not ordered by healthcare providers and were...
What private equity healthcare dollars are seeking in a deal
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG), has produced literature regarding their intention to prosecute private equity firms who do not conduct proper due diligence in healthcare deals. At this time, a few private equity firms have been charged in civil litigation cases for healthcare fraud related civil allegations. However, the OIG has stated that...
Medical Billing Company Owner Sentenced to 12 Years in Healthcare Insurance Fraud Scheme
A Long Island man who impersonated an NBA player and others to further his complex healthcare insurance fraud scheme has been sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $337 million and forfeit $63 million. Mathew James engaged in a years-long healthcare and insurance fraud scheme in which he and his co-conspirators, including physicians throughout the country, defrauded...
In-person evaluation requirement for the prescription of controlled medications waiver extended to 12/31/24
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a reevaluation of healthcare regulations, particularly with regard to telemedicine and the prescription of controlled medications. One significant development in this area is the temporary exceptions granted by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008, which governs the prescription...