federal government
Healthcare industry top spender on federal lobbying in '07
It's good to get attention from federal legislators, but it's going to cost you. That's no mystery to some key healthcare groups, who collectively spent $445 million on federal lobbying during 2007,... Read more...
FL doctor pays $7M to settle federal fraud suit
A physician who owns a Boca Raton, FL-based chain of medical imaging centers has agreed to pay $7 million to settle charges that he overcharged Medicare for services and ordered unnecessary tests.... Read more...
Hospitals win back $666M from Medicare
In a deal that marks one of the largest settlements ever paid by the federal government to healthcare providers, CMS has agreed to pay out $666 million to 667 hospitals that sued for back payments.... Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Cleveland Clinic spends big on lobbying feds; Seattle hospitals going green; and much more...
> When it comes to lobbying, the Cleveland Clinic does it up. The multispecialty medical center spent more than $1.36 million during 2007 alone to lobby the federal government. Read more...
DOJ: CHS submitted $27.5M in bad claims
The U.S. Department of Justice already had let the world know that hospitals run by Community Health Systems had submitted improper claims. Now, the government has attached a number to CHS's alleged... Read more...
KY hospital hires former gov., gets $3.4M
Controversy has blown up over the $3.4 million in reimbursement for disputed Medicaid claims that an eastern Kentucky hospital received after hiring former Gov. Ernie Fletcher as a consultant. The... Read more...
ACP asks for relaxed marijuana laws
No less a mainstream group than The American College of Physicians has issued a call to the federal government to relax its ban on medical marijuana use and foster research into the drug's... Read more...
AHA lobbies to fight cuts, boost health IT
Hospitals, if you're wondering whether the American Hospital Association is fighting for your interests on the Hill, here's one piece of evidence to ponder. The trade group apparently paid a lobbying... Read more...
Patients dying needlessly at troubled VA facility
At least nine patients died and dozens more got sicker than they should be because of inadequate care delivered by the troubled Marion, IL VA Medical Center, according to internal reports released... Read more...
HealthSouth, surgeons settle kickback case for $15M
HealthSouth and two affiliated surgeons have agreed to pay nearly $15 million to settle civil claims related to what the federal government called a kickback scheme. HealthSouth will pay $14.2... Read more...
