By Mike O’Brien bio Jan. 1, 2020 was the deadline to comply with new FLSA overtime rule. At the end of September the Department of Labor issued its long-awaited final rule updating the salary … [Read more...]
In Brief: OIG Opens Second Avenue for Anti-Kickback Statute Revisions
January 13, 2020
Even as we wait for the second draft of the proposed new value-based kickback relief rules—see National Intelligence Report (NIR), Nov. 15, 2019—the OIG issued its annual call for recommendations for … [Read more...]
ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement Trends: Increase in OIG Fraud Recoveries Belies Continued Decline in Enforcement Actions
January 3, 2020
OIG fraud recovery has been a solid growth business for nearly two decades. So, when the agency announced a decline in FY 2018 recovery figures, it was more than a bit surprising. But things got back … [Read more...]
Compliance Perspectives: New Laws & the Top 5 Challenges Lab Compliance Officers Face in 2020
January 2, 2020
Labs remain at the forefront of the federal government’s suspicious persons list and health care fraud enforcement agenda. But in addition to the customary laws that labs are used to, the government … [Read more...]
OIG
Scorecard: OIG Enforcement Actions against Labs in 2019
January 2, 2020
Labs remain at the top of the OIG’s enforcement hit list, as illustrated by the number of cases involving labs cited in the agency’s new Semiannual Report to Congress for FY 2019: False Billing … [Read more...]
NEWS
The Year in Labs Regulation: The 6 Biggest Stories of 2019
January 2, 2020
"May you live in interesting times.” This ancient Chinese curse extolling the virtues of stability may resonate with those of you who work in the lab industry and have a stake in federal … [Read more...]
ANTI-KICKBACK
Kickbacks: Millennium Free Test Cup Physicians Crackdown Yields First 7-Figure Settlement
December 12, 2019
The federal crackdown against the physicians and medical practices that accepted free point-of-care test cups from Millennium Health continues. On Oct. 2, 2019, the OIG dropped a bombshell by … [Read more...]
LABS IN COURT
Feds Take Down Florida Substance Abuse Clinic Principles for Drug Test Fraud
December 3, 2019
Case: A trio of individuals associated with a Miami substance abuse facility were charged with taking part in a scheme to bill private insurers for tests that weren’t medically necessary or, in some … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
November 28, 2019
A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry Lab’s ‘False Positive’ Drug Test Report ≠ Defamation of Employee Case: An Arkansas nurse got fired … [Read more...]
ENFORCEMENT
Quest Pays $88.7K to Settle Specimen Collection Fee Kickback Charges Against Its Subsidiary
November 20, 2019
Case: After self-disclosing, Quest has settled kickback claims against its wholly-owned subsidiary, Quest Diagnostics TB LLC, for $88,780. The OIG alleges that from June 2011 to December 2016, the lab … [Read more...]
