On August 18, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) published an Advisory Opinion warning that a common arrangement under which surgeons profit from referrals of their patients for intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) services can violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS). The Advisory Opinion, the first significant public commentary on
NJ DME Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Kickback Scheme
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Jersey recently announced that Alexander Schleider of Lakewood pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in a durable medical equipment (DME) kickback scheme.
Schleider owned and operated several DME companies that provided orthotic braces to beneficiaries of Medicare and other healthcare benefit programs regardless of
NY Pharmacy Owner and Manager Indicted for Medicaid Fraud
New York State Attorney General Letitia James recently announced that the owner and manager of Santiago Pharmacy in Flushing, Queens, were indicted for paying kickbacks to Medicaid recipients in exchange for filling their HIV prescriptions at the pharmacy.
Juan Poveda, the owner, and Javier Burbano, the pharmacy manager, were charged with grand larceny, health care
NJ Psychiatric Practice Fined for HIPAA Privacy Rule Violation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently announced that Manasa Health Center in Kendall Park, New Jersey entered into a Resolution Agreement and Corrective Action Plan to resolve a HIPAA Privacy Rule violation. The psychiatric practice, owned by Dr. Nidagalle Gowda, inexplicably disclosed four patients’ protected health information
Bronx Nursing Home Settles AKS/FCA Case
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that Morris Park Nursing Home, a skilled nursing facility in the Bronx, and two individuals agreed to pay a total of $3.46 million to resolve federal Anti-Kickback Statute and False Claims Act violations. The schemes included paying cash kickbacks to a supervisor at a nearby hospital in exchange
Former NY Nurse Sentenced for Fake Vax Cards
On June 9, Steven Rodriguez, a former nurse from Long Beach, New York, was sentenced in federal court to 2-1/2 years in prison for selling at least 300 fake COVID-19 vaccination cards. Rodriguez and a co-conspirator from Queens, Jia Liu, had pleaded guilty to the scam. Liu will be sentenced in September.
To cover up
PA Therapist Fined for HIPAA Right of Access Violation
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced on May 8 that David Mente, a Pittsburgh psychotherapist, has paid $15,000 to settle a violation of the HIPAA Privacy Rule. OCR has been pursuing its so-called Right of Access Initiative since 2019, as previously discussed here.
Incredibly, some healthcare
Yale New Haven Reaches $560K FCA Settlement
The U.S Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut announced on May 9 that Yale New Haven Health Services Corp. and Northeast Medical Group, Inc. have paid $560,718.48 to resolve federal and state False Claims Act (FCA) allegations. The hospital system allegedly submitted claims to Medicare and Medicaid for services provided by mid-level providers
Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Therapist’s Free Speech Claim
In the case Brokamp v. James, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on April 27 affirmed the dismissal of Elizabeth Brokamp’s suit against New York officials. The Virginia-licensed mental health counselor’s suit claiming that New York’s licensing laws violated her right to free speech was previously dismissed by a lower court.
Fraud Week: CT Behavioral Health Providers Sentenced
We’ll wrap up this edition of Fraud Week with a look at two Connecticut behavioral health providers, one bad and one very, very bad. First, Alicia Thompkins, a social worker from Hartford, pleaded guilty on April 27 to Medicaid fraud, but received only a three-year suspended jail sentence and an order to pay $140,000 in