Practice Area News

Health Care

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• This Week 

  • Federal Judge Denies Class Certification To Insurance Agents' Fraud Lawsuit

    LEXINGTON, Ky. - A Kentucky federal judge on May 22 denied class certification in a fraud lawsuit between insurance agents and an insurance agency regarding withheld commissions on sold Medicare Advantage plans (Harold David Cowden, et al. v. Parker & Associates Inc., et al., No. 09-323, E.D. Ky.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72253).
    
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    Missouri Federal Judge: Relator's Fraud Suit Based On Nonpublic Information

    ST. LOUIS - A Missouri federal judge on May 20 dismissed a summary judgment motion filed by defendants in a qui tam Federal False Claims Act suit, saying the claims of Medicare and Medicaid fraud filed by relator Health Dimensions Rehabilitation Inc. against RehabCare Group and Rehab Systems Inc. (RSM) are not solely based upon publicly disclosed information but on an investigation by the relator over the course of a year (United States of America ex rel. Health Dimensions Rehabilitation Inc. v. RehabCare Group Inc., et al., No. 4:12CV00848, E.D. Mo., Eastern Div.).
    
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    FTC Entitled To TRO In Merger Case, Georgia Federal Judge Rules

    ALBANY, Ga. - A federal judge in Georgia on May 15 granted the Federal Trade Commission's motion to temporarily enjoin Phoebe Putney Health System Inc. from taking any further steps to consolidate Georgia hospitals and from making any price changes to existing contracts following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that the state-action doctrine does not immunize the merger from antitrust scrutiny (Federal Trade Commission, et al. v. Phoebe Putney Health System Inc., et al., No. 1:11-cv-58, M.D. Ga.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 68658).
    
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• Last Week 

  • California Appeals Court Affirms Hospital Has No Duty To Prevent Balance Billing

    SAN JOSE, Calif. - A California appeals court panel held in a May 9 unpublished opinion that a hospital has no duty to inform patients admitted to the emergency room that emergency room physicians do not accept a particular health care plan and to take action to prevent emergency room physicians from "balance billing" (Maria Leon, et al. v. Watsonville Hospital Corp., No. H037288, Calif. App., 6th Dist.; 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 3297).
    
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    Federal Judge Dismisses Medicare Suit For Lack Of Jurisdiction

    BOSTON - A Massachusetts federal judge on May 9 dismissed a Medicare payment dispute, saying that the plaintiff home health agency failed to exhaust administrative remedies and that, therefore, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case (MJG Management Associates Inc. v. NHIC Corp., et al., No. 12-11414, D. Mass.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 66238).
    
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    Pa. Federal Judge Reconsiders Dismissal Order In Birth Control Mandate Suit

    PITTSBURGH - A Pennsylvania federal judge on May 8 granted a motion to reconsider the dismissal of claims brought by a private, nonprofit college, two for-profit entities and the owners of those entities who are challenging the "birth control" mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), saying that the claims are now ripe for review. The judge then went on to partially grant and partially deny the defendants' motion to dismiss (Geneva College, et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius, et al., No. 12-207, W.D. Pa.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 65685).
    
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    Citing Politics, Judge Will Let 2nd Circuit Stay His Plan B Access Order

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. - Saying that the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services is playing politics and that the Food and Drug Administration inked a "sweetheart" deal with Teva Women's Health, a New York federal judge on May 10 granted only a temporary stay of his order for unrestricted sale of the Plan B emergency contraceptives and said the government will have to ask a federal appeals court to issue its own stay because he doubts its likelihood of success (Annie Tummino v. Margaret Hamburg, et al., No. 12-763, E.D. N.Y.).
    
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• 2 Weeks ago 

  • Health Insurance Purchasers May Drop $4.8M Settlement Of Antitrust Litigation

    PITTSBURGH - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on May 7 permitted purchasers of health insurance from Highmark Inc. to withdraw their motion for preliminary approval of their settlement with Highmark of their antitrust claims, where the purchasers argued that Highmark failed to disclose information that demonstrated that the value of the proposed settlement was illusory (Royal Mile Company, Inc., et al. v. UPMC, et al. No. 2:10-cv-01609, W.D. Pa.).
    
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    Plan May Seek Reimbursement From Special Needs Trust, En Banc 5th Circuit Rules

    NEW ORLEANS - A divided en banc Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 7 held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act permits health plan fiduciaries to seek reimbursement for medical benefits the plan paid on behalf of a participant from a special needs trust funded by a third-party tortfeasor settlement (ACS Recovery Services, Inc., et al. v. Larry Griffin, et al., No. 11-40446, 5th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 9324).
    
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    Fla. Federal Judge Dismisses Suit Alleging Insurer Schemed To Avoid Paying Rebates

    FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A Florida federal judge on May 7 dismissed a putative class action case against a health insurer and a third-party administrator accused of inflating medical loss ratios to avoid paying rebates for excessive premiums to subscribers as mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) for lack of standing and ordered arbitration for claims against a second third-party administrator (MRI Scan Center v. National Imaging Associates Inc., et al., No. 13-60051, S.D. Fla.).
    
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    D.C. Circuit Court Dismisses Appeal In Birth Control Suit

    WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on May 3 granted the federal government's motion for voluntary dismissal of interlocutory appeal in a case challenging the grant of a preliminary injunction in favor of a for-profit Christian publishing company seeking to halt the implementation of the contraception mandate contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Tyndale House Publishers Inc., et al. v. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al., No. 13-5018, D.C. Cir.).
    
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    Illinois Federal Judge Orders Government To Provide Information In Medicare Suit

    CHICAGO - An Illinois federal judge on May 6 partially granted a defendant's motion for an order directing the federal government to file a bill of particulars in its case against him for Medicare fraud (United States of America v. Robert Kolbusz, No. 12-782, N.D. Ill.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64043).
    
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    Claims Against Blue Cross In Case Alleging Hidden Administrative Fees Continue

    FLINT, Mich. - A federal judge in Michigan on May 3 declined to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds an employer's claim that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS) violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by charging hidden fees that were not included in the parties' administrative service contract (ASC) (East Jordan Plastics, Inc., et al. v. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan, No. 12-cv-15621, E.D. Mich.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63475).
    
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    Appeals Court: 2-Visit Rule Applies To Psychology Services For Medicaid Patients

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California appeals court on May 2 held that federal law does not prohibit the application of California's two-visit rule to psychology services provided by federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to Medi-Cal patients (Mendocino Community Health Clinic, et al. v. State Department of Health Care Services, No. C067826, Calif. App., 3rd Dist.; 2013 Cal. App. LEXIS 350).
    
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    Texas Federal Judge Allows Amendment To Add Defendant In Reimbursement Suit

    DALLAS - A Texas federal judge on May 2 granted health care providers' motion to amend their complaint against insurance companies in a reimbursement dispute, saying that defendant the plaintiffs sought to add was a necessary party to the action (Paragon Office Services, et al. v. Aetna Inc., et al., No. 11-1898, N.D. Texas; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62804).
    
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    Louisiana Federal Judge Denies Motion To Remand Denial Of Benefits Case

    LAFAYETTE, La. - A Louisiana federal judge on May 1 denied a plaintiff's motion to remand her wrongful denial of prescription benefits case to state court (Amelia Simon v. Express Scripts Inc., et al., No. 13-187, W.D. La.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63132).
    
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• 3 Weeks ago 

  • 5th Circuit Affirms Order Denying Judicial Review Of Part D Coverage Dispute

    NEW ORLEANS - The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on May 1 affirmed a federal trial court order denying judicial review of a challenge to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Medicare Part D rule allowing prescription drug plans (PDPs) to establish preferred pharmacy networks. The appeals court found that the limited exception to the requirement of exhausting the administrative appeals process does not apply in the instant case (Southwest Pharmacy Solutions Inc. v. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, et al., No. 12-40097, 5th Cir.; 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 8923).
    
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    Government Seeks Stay Of Plan B Contraceptive Order Pending 2nd Circuit Appeal

    BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The federal government on May 1 asked a judge to stay, pending appeal, his order that the Food and Drug Administration make all Plan B emergency contraceptive products available without age or point-of-sale restrictions, saying the court exceeded its authority in ordering the agency to approve a drug (Annie Tummino, et al. v. Dr. Margaret Hamburg, et al., No. 1:12-763, E.D. N.Y.).
    
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    Florida Federal Judge Affirms Order Revoking Facility Billing Privileges

    MIAMI - A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on April 30 affirmed a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ruling that an outpatient rehabilitation facility's Medicare billing privileges were properly revoked because the facility was not properly staffed with qualified medical professionals (CompRehab Wellness Group Inc. v. Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, No. 1:11cv23377, S.D. Fla.; 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61567).
    
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    Judge Dismisses 1 Claim From Reimbursement Suit, Remands Remaining Claims

    LOS ANGELES - A California federal judge on April 29 dismissed a federal false advertising claim from a reimbursement dispute between medical providers and health insurers and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state claims (Los Angeles County Medical Association, et al. V. Aetna Health of California Inc., et al., No. 12-11020, C.D. Calif.).
    
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