News From Around the Web
> A manufacturer and supplier of medical products have agreed to pay more than $20 million collectively to resolve allegations the two companies engaged in a kickback scheme. The settlement resolves claims that Hollister Inc., which manufactures disposable healthcare products, paid kickbacks to Byram Healthcare Centers Inc., a medical supplier, to promote certain products. Announcement
> The owner of a New Orleans durable medical equipment company was convicted of 18 counts of healthcare fraud for paying recruiters for patient names and Medicare numbers as well as billing for unnecessary power wheelchairs, accessories and orthotics. Announcement
> A New Jersey anesthesiologist has lost his license leading up to a June trial during which authorities will present claims he submitted $1.5 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare, according to NJ.com. In addition to revoking his license, the state board cited Amgad Hessein for indiscriminately prescribing addictive painkillers. Article
Health Payer News
As the opioid abuse and addiction crisis intensified, private and public insurers took on more of the cost, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published in Health Affairs. Article
Health IT News
While the Department of Veterans Affairs has made progress in implementing its electronic benefits management system, it failed to integrate audit logs into the project, making it impossible to detect and respond to security violations, according to a report from the VA Office of the Inspector General. Article
And finally… Pizza box pizza: American ingenuity at its finest. Article