Florida Lab, Execs Settle False Billing of Urine Drug Test Charges for $41 Million Case: Prosecutors accused a Tampa reference lab, pain clinic and two former executives of billing Medicare, … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
April 27, 2020
Compliance Corner
What to Do If Stark Is Keeping You from Providing Emergency COVID-19 Testing
March 30, 2020
Scenario: A local physician group wants to team up with your lab to provide COVID-19 testing for its Medicare, Medicaid and private pay patients. Although the deal would also be lucrative, the primary … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
WV Hospital & Marketer Accused of Elaborate Kickback Scam
March 23, 2020
Case: A new DOJ lawsuit accuses a West Virginia non-profit hospital and its business consultant of seeking to dominate the Ohio Valley market by bribing physicians for referrals. The scheme began in … [Read more...]
Stark Law
How Coronavirus Public Health Emergency Offers Potential for Temporary Stark Relief
March 17, 2020
On Jan. 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared novel coronavirus, aka, COVID-19, a public health emergency (PHE). While it might sound like the highest level of government … [Read more...]
Labs In Court
A roundup of recent cases and enforcement actions involving the diagnostics industry
January 27, 2020
Reference Lab Pays $26.7 Million to Settle False Claim Charges Case: The feds claim that Laboratory Boston Heart Diagnostics contracted to provide lab testing services to Texas hospitals in … [Read more...]
Whistleblowers: Hospitals, Labs Dodge a Major Stark/False Claims Act Bullet
January 27, 2020
It’s the moment of truth in a whistleblower case. The defendant claims the whistleblower’s claims aren’t legally valid and asks the court to dismiss the case without a trial. If the motion is … [Read more...]
EKRA: More than a Year Out, Major Questions Remain Unresolved
January 26, 2020
One of the scariest new lab compliance laws in recent memory is the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (EKRA). While laws banning remuneration in exchange for referrals is nothing new to … [Read more...]
ANTI-KICKBACK
Compliance Tool: Model In-Office Phlebotomist Agreement
January 24, 2020
The following Model Agreement between a testing lab and a referring physician was created by Savannah, GA, lab compliance attorney Adam Walters and structured to minimize kickback liability risks to … [Read more...]
