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© 2007-12 Easley Appellate Practice, P.L.L.C. (Since 1994) All rights reserved.
4000 Ponce de León Blvd., Suite 470, Miami, Florida 33146
(800) 216-6185 (305) 444-1599 [email protected]
Health Care Fraud: DOCTOR LOSES FCA SUIT AGAINST NY HOSPITALS; JOB CLAIM SURVIVES, United States v. N.Y. Presbyterian Hosp., 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 4, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
A radiologist has lost his Medicare and Medicaid billing fraud suit against two New York hospitals in Manhattan federal court, but a claim for employment retaliation will go forward. U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald granted the hospitals' motion to dismiss the fraud claims with prejudice, ruling that plaintiff Dr. Robert C. Smith failed to back his allegations with particularity as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b).
Insurance Coverage: PA. COURT RULES HMOS MUST COVER REHAB COSTS, Ins. Fed'n of Pa. v. Commonwealth, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 5, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
Managed care plans in Pennsylvania must cover substance abuse treatment costs for policyholders whose doctors have referred them to detoxification, rehabilitation or outpatient programs, a state court has ruled. In a blow to the managed care industry in the state, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court said policyholders need only the referral of a physician or psychologist to seek treatment and that HMOs cannot force them to get a second opinion before paying for rehab costs.
Antitrust: ILL. HOSPITAL CHARGES INFLATED FEES FOR PATIENT CARE, SUIT SAYS, Porter v. Evanston Nw. Healthcare Corp., 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 2, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
An Illinois man has filed a class-action suit against a Chicago-area hospital operator for allegedly using monopoly power to force patients to pay artificially inflated prices for health care services. Jeffrey Porter alleges that Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Corp. engaged in unlawful anticompetitive conduct in the operation of its three wholly owned hospitals, Evanston Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital and Highland Park Hospital.
Emergency Contraception: PHARMACISTS FIGHT NEW WASH. STATE RULE ON 'MORNING-AFTER PILL', Stormans Inc. v. Selecky, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 3, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
Two pharmacists and a pharmacy owner in Olympia, Wash., have sued the state over a new regulation that requires them to stock and dispense the emergency oral contraception known as Plan B. Pharmacists Rhonda Mesler and Margo Thelen and the owner of Ralphy's Thriftway say the rule violates their civil rights by forcing them to choose between "their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs."
Medicaid Coverage: 9TH CIR. WON'T REHEAR CASE ON MEDICAID FEES, Spry v. Thompson, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 6, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
A federal appeals court has refused to reconsider a ruling that the state of Oregon can charge higher premiums and co-pays for people covered under an expansion of the state's Medicaid program created in the early 1990s. In May the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found that a state has the right to waive compliance with some regulations the federal government imposes for core Medicaid recipients when it chooses to expand its coverage in an experimental plan.
Failure to Treat: VA FAILURES CAUSED IRAQ WAR VETERAN'S SUICIDE, SUIT SAYS, Lucey v. Nicholson, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 7, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
The parents of a 23-year-old Iraq War veteran who committed suicide after a VA hospital allegedly refused to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder because of his alcohol abuse has filed a wrongful-death suit against the government in Massachusetts federal court. Kevin and Joyce Lucey filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of the estate of Jeffrey Michael Lucey and in their own right against James Nicholson, secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Medical Malpractice: 7TH CIR. OVERTURNS $1 MILLION VERDICT IN CHOKING CASE, Fagocki v. Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Fire Prot. Dist., 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 8, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
A federal appeals court in Chicago has overturned a $1 million jury verdict in a negligence suit alleging paramedics failed to properly intubate a woman who had suffered an allergic reaction to peanuts at a restaurant. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit held that the Illinois Emergency Medical Services Systems Act, 210 Ill. Comp. Stat. 50/3.150, shielded paramedics employed by the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District from liability for their allegedly substandard care.
News Brief: RI GOVERNOR BLOCKS INFERTILITY COVERAGE FOR SINGLE WOMEN, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 10, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri has vetoed a bill requiring health insurers to cover infertility treatments for unmarried women. The Republican governor said he was opposed to the bill because it would have forced insurers to subsidize out-of-wedlock births, according to a written statement announcing his veto July 19. "As a matter of public policy, the state should be encouraging the birth of children to two-parent families, not the reverse."
Nursing Homes: KATRINA SUIT DEFENDANT MUST DISCLOSE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS' INFO, Martin v. Lafon Nursing Facility of the Holy Family, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 11, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
The owner of a New Orleans nursing home sued over the deaths of 22 residents during Hurricane Katrina's aftermath must disclose the names and home addresses of all people who were living there when the storm hit, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk ruled that disclosure of the residents' identities does not violate Louisiana's health care provider-patient privilege, because the information is necessary to determine whether the federal courts may continue to exercise jurisdiction.
Pharmaceuticals: JUDGE OKS $635 MILLION FINE IN OXYCONTIN MARKETING CASE, United States v. Purdue Frederick Co., 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 12, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
A federal judge in Abingdon, Va., has finalized a criminal investigation into the marketing of the pain drug OxyContin by assessing nearly $635 million in fines against Purdue Frederick Co. and three executives, only one of whom remains with the company. Following a hearing in the remote town, U.S. District Judge James P. Jones ordered the defendants to pay the fines as part of plea agreements entered for their role in misleading the public about the addictiveness and other dangers of OxyContin.
Price-Fixing: PUERTO RICO OPTOMETRIST GROUP SETTLES FEDS' PRICE-FIXING CASE, In re Colegio de Optometras, 15 No. 4 Andrews Health L. Litig. Rep. 13, Andrews Health Law Litigation Reporter August 23, 2007
A group representing all optometrists in Puerto Rico has agreed to settle charges of violating federal antitrust laws by orchestrating a price-fixing scheme among its members. Colegio de Optometras de Puerto Rico and Drs. Edgar Dvila Garcia and Carlos Rivera Alonso, who ran the organization, agreed to a consent order barring them from future antitrust violations, the Federal Trade Commission said in a statement. San Juan-based Colegio is a not-for-profit association of professional optometrists.
