OCR Issues Audit Report on Healthcare Industry Compliance with the HIPAA Rules
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released its 2016–2017 HIPAA Audits Industry Report that reviewed…
Medical Equipment Company Agrees to Pay $800,000 to Resolve False Claims Act Action
On September 23, 2020 Handicare USA (doing business as Prism Medical Services), agreed to pay the United States $800,000 to resolve allegations that it knowingly…
Owner of Texas Chain of Hospice Companies Sentenced for $150 Million Healthcare Fraud
Rodney Mesquias, 48, of San Antonio, Texas, has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison after his conviction related to falsely telling thousands of…
COVID-19 Vaccine Shipment Returned after ‘Anomaly’ Causes Storage Temperature to Fall
Several thousands of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine had to be returned to Pfizer due to an “anomaly” that caused storage temperatures to plunge during…
CMS Recommends Nursing Home Residents Do Not Leave Facilities during the Holiday Season
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is recommending that residents do not leave the nursing home, especially during the holiday season. The anticipated…
Wearing a Used Mask Could Be Worse Than No Mask Amid COVID-19: Study
A new three-layer surgical mask is 65 percent efficient in filtering particles in the air — but when used, that number drops to 25 percent,…
Alaska Health Worker Had a Serious Allergic Reaction after Pfizer’s Vaccine
A healthcare worker in Alaska had a serious allergic reaction after getting Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday and remained hospitalized on Wednesday morning under observation.
Ten Defendants Arrested in Home-Health Aide Fraud Scheme
Marianna Levin, Tetyana Golyak, Elena Lokshin, Svitlana Rohulya, Marina Zak, Alina Kuptsova, Maliha Ijaz, Makhinbonu Narzullaeva, Natalya Shvarts, and Inna Gekelman were charged with conspiracy…
Wisconsin Dentist Indicted for Healthcare Fraud Scheme That Involved Purposefully Damaging Patients’ Teeth
Scott Charmoli (60) of Grafton, Wisconsin, was indicted by a federal grand jury for pursuing a healthcare fraud scheme that involved purposefully damaging patients’ teeth…
EEOC Issues Updated Covid-19 Technical Assistance Publication
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted an updated and expanded technical assistance publication addressing questions arising under the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity…