Tags: Jeff Shanton | Michael Manigan | New Jersey | Nia Gill | out of network | S-1742 | S-1743 | surgery center

Two bills seeking to regulate the out-of-network relationships between healthcare providers and patients have been introduced in the New Jersey Senate by Sen. Nia Gill (D-34), chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Committee, according to Mark Manigan, JD, an attorney with the Health Law Practice Group at Brach Eichler in Roseland, N.J. Read more...  

Tags: Florida | fraud | orthopedic surgeon | Shekhar Desai

Shekhar Desai, MD, an orthopedic surgeon in Brevard County, Fla., has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for accepting $70,000-$120,000 in consulting fees from DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, for services he never performed, according to a report by Florida Today. Read more...  

Tags: compliance | due diligence | false claims | healthcare | investment | private equity | transactions

The healthcare sector saw a significant decrease in the number of private equity transactions completed last year. Pitchbook (see: www.Pitchbook.com) reported that approximately 125 deals were completed where private equity funds invested in healthcare companies in 2009. This is down from 233 in 2008. This reduction takes into account both general economic conditions which saw declines in almost every sector, the overhang of healthcare reform where many investors saw tremendous uncertainty in the healthcare sector due to the potential for healthcare reform and the concern that some funds were over-invested in healthcare. Interestingly enough, much of the over-investing in healthcare resulted less because sponsors increased their percentage of investment in healthcare but more due to significant reductions in the values of the other investments which left their overall percentage of investment in healthcare higher both on the equity or debt side and thus over invested in healthcare. Read more...  

Tags: fraud | Louisiana | New Orleans | Windsor Dennis

Windsor Dennis, MD, a New Orleans-based orthopedic surgeon, has pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulently billing the federal government and has agreed to pay $750,000 in restitution, according to a report by WXVT News. Read more...  

Tags: GOP | healthcare reform | President Obama

President Obama will consider adopting four proposals Congressional Republicans suggested in last week's healthcare summit on the president's health reform legislation, according to a letter the White House sent Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress. Read more...  

Tags: antitrust | Congress | health insurance | Nancy Pelosi

In a rare showing of bipartisan agreement, the U.S. House voted 406-19 to repeal health plans' exemption from federal antitrust laws, according to a release from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Read more...  

Tags: healthcare reform | healthcare summit | Nancy Pelosi | President Obama

1.  Its very unlikely that President Obama gained any Republican votes through his most recent healthcare summit and efforts on healthcare reform. President Obama's more than seven hour healthcare summit yesterday most likely did not win over any Republicans in support of any specific healthcare plan, including the draft legislation President Obama released on Monday. Read more...  

Tags: embezzlement | guilty plea | Massachusetts

A practice assistant in the ENT Department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston is pleading guilty to embezzling more than $1 million from the hospital, according to a release from the FBI.

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Tags: New York | NYSHIP | waiving out-of-pocket fees

Six healthcare providers in New York have reimbursed state officials more than $2.4 million in restitution and paid a combined $39,107 in fines for inflated billings submitted to the New York State Health Insurance Program, according to a report by Insurance & Financial Advisor.

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Tags: Cadillac Tax | health reform | health summit | premium increases | President Obama

President Obama has released his proposal for a health reform bill, which he will carry into a televised meeting on health reform with Democrat and Republican Congressional leaders on Thursday.

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Tags: DCH | Georgia | GSASC | surgery centers | survey

The Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (“GSASC”) has sent a letter to the Georgia Department of Community Health (“DCH”) regarding concerns over some requests for information in the state's 2009 Survey for Single Specialty Physician Owned Office Based Centers and the 2009 Freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey for Multispecialty, Limited Purposed and CON-Related Single Specialty Ambulatory Surgery Centers.

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