Medical Device Legal News with Sam Bernstein: Episode 8
Hospice Audit Series: Beyond Part D, OIG Scrutinizes the Hospice Industry to the Tune of $6.6 Billion
The Next Wave From OIG: Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics, and Supplies (DMEPOS) Audits
Grounded in the OIG’s General Compliance Program Guidance and DOJ’s Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs, our immersive, three-and-a-half-day, classroom-style Healthcare Basic Compliance Academy equips compliance...more
On July 9, 2025, Dr. Mohammed Ahmad of Avon, Ohio, pleaded guilty to making false statements related to health care matters in connection with a telemedicine scheme involving durable medical equipment (DME). ...more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have formed a new False Claims Act (FCA) Working Group, according to a joint announcement issued by DOJ on July 2, 2025....more
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently published a final rule on the accessibility of medical diagnostic equipment (MDE) and other accessibility-related practices that promises to have broad impact on the health care...more
DOJ Launches Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program - On August 1, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the details of its new Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program. According to the DOJ, the...more
Cooperation Spares Former NBA Shooting Guard From Prison - Former National Basketball Association (NBA) shooting guard, Antoine Wright, was sentenced to time served after he pled guilty to conspiracy and aggravated...more
Telemedicine companies are supposed to facilitate medically necessary services to beneficiaries over the telephone via licensed medical professionals. In reality, however, many of these “telemedicine companies” are...more
Government Brings FCA Action Against Laboratory Companies - On July 18, 2023, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it has filed a complaint against multiple laboratory companies and their owner, Patrick...more
This issue of McDermott’s Healthcare Regulatory Check-Up highlights significant regulatory activity for March 2023. We discuss several criminal and civil enforcement actions that involve Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and...more
To celebrate the opening of Rivkin Radler’s first Florida office, we’ll cover some recent Florida frauds. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on April 20 that two Miami residents, Dean Zusmer and Lawrence...more
Whistleblower Watch is a comprehensive source for all False Claims Act (FCA) news and information. Every quarter, Cozen O’Connor will provide in-house counsel and compliance professionals with a summary of the most notable...more
On February 7, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its annual False Claims Act (FCA) recoveries for fiscal year 2022. DOJ recovered $2.2 billion from a total of 351 settlements and judgments—the second-highest...more
$31 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme Results in Two Convictions - On January 30, 2023, a federal jury found two Florida physicians guilty for their involvement in a scheme to defraud Medicare of over $31 million. The two...more
Home health-related fraud and dentists behaving badly (see this week’s earlier posts) have both been notable recent trends, but the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been even busier lately cracking down on fraud involving...more
The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced two settlement agreements, both involving durable medical equipment (“DME”) companies, following allegations that the companies had violated the Anti-Kickback...more
The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that a federal grand jury has charged two pharmacy owners, a mother-daughter duo from South Florida, with healthcare fraud, wire fraud, and payment of kickbacks in exchange...more
On July 20, 2022, the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a Special Fraud Alert cautioning physicians and other health care practitioners to use “heightened scrutiny” when entering into telemedicine arrangements that...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) published a Special Fraud Alert (Fraud Alert) on July 20, 2022, warning healthcare providers "to exercise caution when entering into...more
On July 20, 2022, the Justice Department announced that it brought criminal charges against 36 defendants in 13 federal districts across the country, charging more than $1.2 billion in alleged telemedicine, cardiovascular and...more
In 2006, the NFL instituted the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan (“HRA Plan”), which helps eligible retired NFL players with out of pocket covered medical expenses after their NFL-paid medical coverage...more
For the past two years, telemedicine companies, durable medical equipment suppliers, pharmacies, and individuals and entities that market to such entities have been at the center of DOJ gunsights. In 2019, the Department...more
On February 4, 2021, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Office of Public Affairs, issued a Press Release (the “DOJ Press Release”) announcing that Kelly Wolfe, President of Regency, Inc., a medical billing company located in...more
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released its report detailing the settlements and judgments obtained in 2019 from civil cases involving fraud and abuse claims. As in years past, the substantial majority of these...more
Report on Medicare Compliance 29, no. 2 (January 20, 2020) - - The HHS Office of Inspector General has updated its Work Plan, which includes an item on early discharges from inpatient rehabilitation facilities to home...more