Author: Justin Lane

Shands Teaching Hospital & Clinics, Inc. (Shands) will pay $26 million to settle allegations that it fraudulently charged the government for Medicaid, Medicare and other health care payments, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). Shands operates a chain of teaching hospitals across the state of Florida. The DOJ had alleged that Shands knowingly billed for inpatient treatment when it provided outpatient care. This practice results in the facility receiving inflated sums from the government as inpatient care is more costly to a medical facility than outpatient care. “Medicare and Medicaid fraud accounts for billions of dollars of wasted...

Below are Ring of Fire’s top stories from the past week. Top Videos Texas Fracking Dustbowl The chickens have come home to roost as fracking has burned Texas to a crisp. They forgot you need water to live. In the town of Barnhart, Texas, residents are realizing the devastating impacts of hydraulic fracturing. The town has run out of water. … Read more. FDA Warns of Rare Serious Skin Reactions from Acetaminophen in Tylenol Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning regarding the risks of rare and potentially fatal skin reactions linked to...

It’s a common complaint; why pay more for a brand-name anything when you could get the exact product, save the name (of course), for a lower price. It may seem obvious that the reason we do this has to do with social cues. Brand-name items carry social cache because the best and the brightest in advertising have engineered a public hungry to accept the zeitgeist. Pharmaceutical drugs are no different in their appeal. Consumers buy brand names of drugs because there’s a comfort and appearance perpetuated that they are safe. However, the FDA requires that manufacturers of generic versions...

At the close of last week, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had filed a lawsuit against PharMerica Corporation. The DOJ alleges that the company provided drugs without prescriptions, violating the Controlled Substances Act, and filing for payment from Medicare for the illegally dispensed drugs, violating the False Claims Act. The government only became aware of PharMerica’s actions once a former employee of the company filed a complaint against the company in 2009. Jennifer Denk’s complaint was filed under the qui tam provision of the False Claims act. The act permits individuals to bring lawsuits...

Below are Ring of Fire’s top stories from the past week. Top Video Crooked PA Judge Receives 28-Year Prison Sentence For Selling Kids to Jails Mark Ciavarella, former judge in Luzerne County, PA, received a 28-year prison sentence after being found guilty of racketeering. Ciavarella accepted bribes from a private prison contractor to convict young blacks and have them sent to for-profit juvenile detention centers in what became known as a “cash for kids” scheme. … Read more. BP’s Criminal Conduct Damages the Entire World Last month, BP announced that its claim-compensation fund, intended to pay for claims filed...