The continuing rise of retail health clinics throughout the U.S. has significantly increased convenient access to care for vulnerable populations seeking quick resolutions to common ailments or wanting a COVID-19 vaccination. But how do they stack up against care delivered in primary care practices and facilities managed by hospitals and health systems?
The last convicted in a large-scale multi-year home health fraud conspiracy has been ordered to federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Kenneth Barngrover, M.D., and his practice, Southeast Regional Pain Center (SRPC), in Columbus, Georgia, has agreed to a $1,000,000 civil penalty to resolve allegations that the pain medicine practice violated both the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the False Claims Act (FCA). In addition to a monetary payment, Dr. Barngrover and SRPC entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that will be in effect for the next three years.
Oswego Hospital has agreed to pay $98,694.36 to resolve allegations that it knowingly violated the False Claims Act by: (1) improperly billing Medicare and Medicaid for outpatient mental healthcare services that were rendered by an unsupervised LMSW, and (2) improperly billing Medicaid for outpatient mental healthcare services rendered by another LMSW for which Oswego Hospital could not provide documentation to support those claims.
Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it would buy heart pump maker Abiomed in a $16.6 billion deal, its biggest in nearly six years, as the conglomerate seeks to boost its cardiovascular business.