kickback
Drug companies to cover Part D 'donut hole'
A consortium of seven major drug companies said that it will create a new discount program designed to help low-income seniors obtain prescriptions while they are enrolled in the Medicare Part D program. The program, which will be known as Bridge Rx, will provide discounts of 50 percent or more to eligible low-income seniors when they hit Medicare Part D's notorious "donut hole," the gap in the program's coverage that leaves participants responsible for covering their own prescriptions. …
... Read more...Alvarado Medical Center case goes to jury
In San Diego, the jury is out in a closely-watched case involving Tenet's Alvarado Medical Center. Federal prosecutors accuse the hospital of violating federal kickback statutes by paying relocation bonuses to out-of-state doctors. The hospital and former chief executive Barry Weinbaum both face charges in the case. Tenet continues to insist it did nothing wrong, and that the incentives were necessary to attract physicians to San Diego at a time when real estate prices in the area were …
... Read more...DOJ wants data on device payments
The Justice Department has launched an investigation into possible violations of anti-fraud and anti-kickback laws by leading medical device manufacturers. Medtronic, Guidant and St. Jude Medical are the focus of an investigation headed by the US attorney's office in Boston into possible improper payments made to doctors. With competition in the market for defibrillators and pacemakers intense, some critics have questioned the tactics companies use to win customers. In September, The …
... Read more...HHS rules change targets physician EMR adoption
The Department Health and Human Services is expected to issue a rules change today which will make it far easier for hospitals to encourage affiliated physicians to use the same technology they use. HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt is scheduled to grant hospitals an exemption from the Stark Amendment, a Medicare anti-kickback rule which prevents hospitals from providing financial incentives to doctors for referring business. The change will allow hospitals to legally sell or rent access to …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: Scrushy will not testify;'Yelling and Screaming'in Illinois and <b> much more</b>
> Robert Scrushy will not testify in his own behalf in his fraud case. Story
> The kickback trial of Alvarado Medical Center in San Diego resumes. Story
> Uncertainty about the future at flu vaccine summit. …
