On October 9, 2024, the United States Attorney’s office in the Eastern District of New York unsealed an indictment alleging that eight defendants defrauded Medicaid of approximately $68 million.1 The alleged scheme involved two adult day care programs and a home care financial intermediary, all owned and controlled by the same individuals, as well
Home Health
Eight Charged in $68 Million Brooklyn Medicaid Fraud Scheme
Eight individuals associated with two Brooklyn social adult day care centers and a home health care intermediary have been charged in an alleged $68 million Medicaid fraud scheme. The defendants, including owners and staff from Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Inc., Family Social Adult Day Care Inc., and Responsible Care Staffing, Inc., are accused…
Hospital Terminates Employees for Allowing Another to Do Their Jobs
An article in the September issue of Healthcare Risk Management’s HIPAA Regulatory Alert, “Hospital Terminates Employees for Allowing Another to Do Their Jobs,” discussed a recent incident at Mass General Brigham in Somerville, MA. Upon investigation, the hospital discovered that two employees inappropriately allowed a third person, who was not a hospital…
NY Amends Home Care Worker Minimum Wage
One of the many new provisions enacted as part of the 2023-2024 New York State Budget was an increase in the minimum wage for home care workers.
Initially, it is important to note that the $1 hourly increase in the minimum wage for home care workers in New York State, slated to take effect October…
Healthcare Fraud Tops DOJ’s Annual False Claims Act Report – Again!
Rivkin Radler’s Michael Sirignano authored an article for the March 2 issue of the New York Law Journal entitled “Healthcare Fraud Tops DOJ’s Annual False Claims Act Report – Again!” The article discussed a report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice detailing the settlements and judgments it obtained under the federal False…
New 2023 Minimum Wages and Minimum Salaries to Take Effect
Minimum hourly wages for many nonexempt employees and minimum salaries for exempt employees in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are scheduled to increase in 2023. Employers should begin to make plans to ensure that their hourly wages for nonexempt employees, their minimum salaries for exempt employees and their wage hour policies and practices comply…
Fraud Week: Kickbacks for Home Healthcare Referrals
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on October 18 that Oklahoma-based Carter Healthcare LLC and its affiliates, plus two executives, agreed to pay a total of over $30 million to resolve two separate qui tam cases. One lawsuit claimed that Carter paid remuneration to physicians in Oklahoma and Texas to induce referrals of Medicare…
NYS Budget Aims to Keep Network of CDPAP Fiscal Intermediaries Intact
In December 2019, the New York State Department of Health (DOH) issued a Request for Offers (RFO) from fiscal intermediaries (FIs) to enter into contracts with the DOH to provide FI services in the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) for persons enrolled in Medicaid fee-for-service and Medicaid managed care programs. The CDPAP provides services…
Medical Malpractice: Unique Issues in the Defense of Non-MD Healthcare Providers in the Homecare Setting
Rivkin Radler’s Eric Strober will be a panelist at the CLM Focus conference, taking place June 15-16 in Nashville, TN. His program, entitled “Medical Malpractice: Unique Issues in the Defense of Non-MD Healthcare Providers in the Homecare Setting,” will cover the various kinds of claims that are made against non-doctor professionals in the home care…
2022 Medicare PFS Extends Telehealth Services Expansion
The 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule released on November 2 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added certain services to the Medicare telehealth services list through December 31, 2023. Last year, we wrote about temporary “Category 3” services that were added to the Medicare services list for the duration of…