Texas Hospital’s COVID Vaccination Mandate Upheld by Federal Court

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

As some states lift COVID-19 restrictions, the business community is still grappling with the dynamic between the COVID-19 vaccine and workplace operations. To address this, some U.S. employers have elected to adopt mandatory vaccination policies. These policies, in essence, require that, subject to a few exceptions, all employees must receive the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of continued employment.

Not surprisingly, we see various legal challenges to mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies across the country. On June 12, 2021, a federal court in Texas became the first to rule on the permissibility of such policies […]

By |2024-05-11T20:00:36-04:00May 13, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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Florida Pharmacy Sues Claiming HHS Wrongly Terminated it from Federal PrEP Program

Attorney and Author George F. Indest III HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On March 25, 2024, a pharmacy in Celebration, Florida, alleged HHS abruptly terminated it from a federal program that provides free access to preexposure prophylaxis HIV-prevention (PrEP) medication. Turner Brothers Inc., which does business as Turner Drugs, filed a motion in its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.  In the motion, Turner Drugs asked a D.C. federal judge to force the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and two contractors to reinstate it to […]
By |2024-04-09T13:26:15-04:00May 9, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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HHS Releases Final Substance Use Disorder Confidentiality Rule

By: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule modifying the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records federal regulations (42 C.F.R. Part 2). The new regulation will supposedly help ensure that health care providers have more complete information when treating patients with substance use disorders and improve that regulations compatibility with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Regulations.

Background.

The SUD final rule came out of the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which, among other things, required HHS to align […]

By |2024-04-18T14:24:28-04:00May 9, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog, Mental Health Law Blog|
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Florida Man Pleads Guilty To $36.2 Million Telehealth Medicare Fraud Scheme

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 20th, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in the Middle District of Florida, announced that a Florida man pled guilty to conspiring to commit health care fraud in a $36.2 million telemedicine fraud scheme. As part of the scheme, the Fort Lauderdale-based pharmacy owner paid kickbacks and bribes to telemarketers and telemedicine providers for medically unnecessary prescriptions that were billed to Medicare.

Kickbacks & Bribes to Telemarketing Companies.

According to the plea agreement, the Fort Lauderdale-based, Florida man and his co-conspirators owned and operated pharmacies participating in the Medicare program. From September 2018 through November 2021, they […]

By |2024-07-30T09:40:13-04:00May 8, 2024|Nursing Law Blog|
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Manager of Dental Office Sentenced to One Year Prison Term for Defrauding Medicaid Out of More Than $813,000

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By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 1, 2021, a former dental office manager was sentenced to 12 months in prison for her role in a Medicaid fraud scheme. Mahsa Azimirad, was the office manager for Universal Smiles, a D.C.-based dental practice, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C.

She was indicted in January 2019, along with the dentist who ran the practice. The dentist pleaded guilty in May 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and reportedly admitted that she received over $813,000 through false billings.

The Fraudulent Billing Scheme.

Both the office manager and […]

By |2024-05-05T20:00:07-04:00May 7, 2024|Mental Health Law Blog|
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18 Former NBA Players Indicted For Alleged $4 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On October 7, 2021, 18 former NBA players were charged in New York federal court for an alleged health insurance fraud scheme to rip off the league’s benefit plan, according to an indictment filed in the Southern District of New York. The defendants allegedly engaged in a scheme from at least 2017 through 2020 which involved the submission of fraudulent claims for reimbursement of medical and dental services that were not provided, prosecutors said. The claims totaled nearly $4 million.

The NBA Players Health and Welfare Benefit Plan provide additional medical coverage on top of […]

By |2024-05-04T20:00:14-04:00May 6, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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8 Major Chinese Med Schools Taken Off World Directory Relied on by ECFMG and USMLE

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., is Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In April 2014, the new World Directory of Medical Schools (“World Directory”) was published. It took over as the definitive list of medical schools in the world (yes, the whole world). There are 180 Chinese medical schools listed on the World Directory of Medical Schools. Medical graduates from these schools are routinely eligible to take the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step exams, required for licensing in the United States, after applying and obtaining permission through the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

However, in 2019, eight (8) previously recognized Chinese medical schools were […]

By |2024-05-03T20:00:03-04:00May 5, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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9th Circuit Court Rules Former Nurse Can Proceed With Med Mal Suit Against VA Hospital

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 29, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a former federal employee can sue the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The suit alleges medical negligence that occurred during psychiatric treatment for a non-workplace-related injury.

As a result, the three-judge panel of the appeals court said that U.S. Navy veteran and VA nurse S.H.s’ lawsuit against a Seattle VA hospital can proceed. (Please note: we are not providing the nurse’s name out of respect for her privacy.)

In 2019, the district court dismissed S.H.’s federal tort lawsuit […]

By |2024-04-30T20:00:37-04:00May 2, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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Male Surgeon Wins $15 Million Verdict in Suit Based on “Reverse Discrimination” and Anti-Male Bias;  Hospital Requests New Trial

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law and Hartley Brooks, Law Clerk, The Health Law Firm
In a massive jury verdict awarding a male attending physician more than he requested, a jury found that a hospital demonstrated reverse discrimination and an anti-mail bias in how it handled a female resident physician’s complaint against him.
On January 8, 2024, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital urged a Pennsylvania Federal court to reverse a $15 million judgment against it over its handling of a sexual assault investigation in a gender bias case. In December 2023, a federal jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of […]
By |2024-07-30T09:36:58-04:00May 1, 2024|Pharmacy Law Blog|
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Florida Gov Signs Sweeping COVID-19 Liability Protections Into Law

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On March 29, 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that protects businesses, governments, and healthcare providers in Florida from COVID-19 lawsuits if they make a reasonable effort to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus (whatever that means). Specifically, the measure gives civil immunity to corporations, hospitals, nursing homes, government entities, schools, and churches as long as the alleged negligence doesn’t involve gross negligence or intentional misconduct. The House Passed S.B. 72 on March 26, in an 83-31 vote, and DeSantis signed it the same day he received it from the […]

By |2024-04-28T20:00:06-04:00April 30, 2024|Health Facilities Law Blog|
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“The Health Law Firm” is a registered fictitious business name of George F. Indest III, P.A.
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