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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General recognized telehealth s potential while cautioning that steps must be taken to ensure virtual care will not be compromised by fraud.
OIG Principal Deputy Inspector General Christi A. Grimm wrote in a statement on Friday that the quick pivot to telemedicine amidst the COVID-19 pandemic makes oversight, transparency, accountability and program integrity all the more important. OIG is conducting significant oversight work assessing telehealth services during the public health emergency. Once complete, these reviews will provide objective findings and recommendations that can further inform policymakers and other stakeholders considering what telehealth flexibilities should be permanent, wrote Grimm.
11:47 AM
The U.S. Department of Justice announced earlier this month that an Indian Rocks Beach, Florida-based woman has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud and filing a false tax return.
Kelly Wolfe and her company, Regency, Inc., have also agreed to pay up to $20.3 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act.
Among the allegations are that Wolfe and her conspirators submitted well over $400 million in illegal durable medical equipment claims to Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans, relying on the guise of telemedicine to explain the unusually high volume of claims.
Metro Detroit woman first in nation charged with stealing COVID aid money designated for medical providers
Amina Abbas, of Taylor, charged with embezzlement of government property
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DETROIT – A Metro Detroit woman has been indicted after she was accused of misappropriating government money designated to aid medical providers in treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 and instead using it for personal use.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Amina Abbas, of Taylor, was charged Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan with embezzlement of government property.
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“This indictment includes the first criminal charges for the intentional misuse of funds intended to provide relief to health care providers and maintain the access to medical care during the pandemic, money set aside to help Americans get needed medical care in a global health and economic crisis,” reads a press release from the DOJ.
Frail people, deadly care
Updated on Feb 05, 2021;
Published on Feb 04, 2021
Bettejane Jaeger over the years. Her daughters question the care she received in her final days. Courtesy of Jaeger family | NJ Advance Media photo illustration
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Glenn Osborne, a 66-year-old retired Marine Corps sergeant and Vietnam veteran, is on a battlefield. Every day, the casualties mount.
From his powered wheelchair at the troubled state-operated Veterans Memorial Home in Menlo Park, Osborne says he has witnessed the suffering of far too many fellow nursing home residents as they lay pale, barely breathing. Some, he said, are left in soiled diapers.
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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on January 28 that athenahealth Inc., a Massachusetts-based electronic health records (EHR) technology vendor, has agreed to pay $18.25 million to resolve allegations that it paid illegal kickbacks to generate sales of its EHR product, athenaClinicals. The settlement is the government’s latest reminder that marketing initiatives that are common in other industries may violate federal and state law when undertaken by companies in the healthcare field.
Athena implemented three marketing programs that allegedly violated the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act: The company provided prospective and existing customers with free tickets to sporting, entertainment, and recreational events, including the Masters Tournament and the Kentucky Derby, and paid for their travel, luxury accommodations, meals, and alcohol; it paid kickbacks of up to $3,000 to existing cus