Health co. settles kickback scheme allegations involving convicted cancer Dr. Farid Fata for $200K

A national health care company with offices in Southfield this week settled a civil lawsuit alleging it paid kickbacks to convicted cancer doctor Farid Fata for referrals to its hospice programs, according to federal attorneys.

Vitas Health Corporation Midwest, and other entities related to it, agreed Tuesday, Nov. 29, in federal court to pay $200,000 and resolve allegations that the entity violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute by paying Farid Fata, of Oakland Township, for patient referrals.

Fata, 50, is the former owner of the Rochester-area practice Michigan Hematology and Oncology. He is serving a 45-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to 13 counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy and two counts of money laundering. The former oncologist admitted he made millions by ordering unneeded treatments for patients and billing Medicare and other insurers.

In one instance, Fata was accused of forcing a patient who fell and hit his head to undergo chemotherapy before receiving medical treatment for the head injury, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The patient later died from the head injury.

Read more: http://www.theoaklandpress.com/general-news/20161130/health-company-settles-kickback-scheme-allegations-involving-convicted-cancer-doctor-farid-fata-for-200k

Lame duck bills would change Michigan's voter ID requirements

LANSING, MI - Most Michigan voters would have to present an ID card for their votes to count under legislation that popped up suddenly during Michigan's lame-duck session.

Currently voters who are registered but do not have a voter ID can fill out an affidavit attesting to their identity and then vote. House Bills 6066, 6067 and 6068, introduced Tuesday, would change that.

Under the bills a voter without ID would fill out a provisional ballot. That ballot would only be counted if the voter returned to their clerk's office within 10 days to show either a photo ID or present evidence they are either indigent and can't afford an ID or have a religious objection to having their photo taken.

"I can't emphasize how simple this is. If you want your vote to count, you must prove your identity," said Rep. Lisa Lyons, R-Alto, who sponsored the bills.

Read more: http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/11/lame_duck_bills_would_change_m.html

State sheds little light on troubled prison transport firm

The security guard was a big guy of about 270 pounds, and 5-foot-10. The three other guards on the prison bus called him Abram. Over the course of a two-day bus ride through four states last fall, Abram wielded his authority over handcuffed and shackled prisoners, one prisoner recounted, sexually groping men.

“He rubbed up against me, touched me on my buttocks,” Woodrow Wilson, 58, of Detroit told Bridge. “I was handcuffed. I felt violated.”

The alleged abuse is outlined in a federal lawsuit Wilson filed in October against Prisoner Transportation Services of America, LLC, a private, for-profit company hired by the Michigan Department of Corrections to transport prisoners across states. Based in Nashville, Tenn., PTS is one of the largest private prisoner transportation companies in the nation and has been the subject of lawsuits, public scrutiny and allegations of mistreatment of prisoners.

At least four people have died nationally in PTS vehicles since 2012, according to the Marshall Project, a nonprofit, Pulitzer-Prize-winning news organization focusing on criminal justice, which this year investigated for-profit extradition companies in collaboration with the New York Times.

Read more: http://bridgemi.com/2016/11/state-sheds-little-light-on-troubled-prison-transport-firm/

Judge adds $5M to ex-coach's verdict vs. Penn State

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A former Penn State assistant football coach is getting an additional $5 million over his treatment by the university following Jerry Sandusky’s arrest on child molestation charges five years ago.

Judge Thomas Gavin ruled in favor of Mike McQueary’s whistleblower claim against the university today, adding to a jury’s $7.3 million verdict issued last month for defamation and misrepresentation.

McQueary had told investigators he saw Sandusky sexually abuse a boy in a team shower in 2001. After Sandusky’s arrest, McQueary was put on leave with pay and hasn’t returned to coaching.

Gavin is concluding that Penn State retaliated against McQueary.

Read more: http://www.toledoblade.com/Courts/2016/11/30/Judge-adds-5M-to-ex-coach-s-verdict-vs-Penn-State.html

Toledo mulls limiting payday loan firms

City of Toledo officials are mulling a plan to clamp down on future payday and short-term lenders — a move other cites have already taken and financial coaches applauded.

The zoning change proposed — written by George Thomas, an attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. and sponsored by Toledo Councilman Cecelia Adams — would limit any new such lenders to one for every 30,000 Toledoans and require at least 2,000 feet between each.

“Toledo, like many other cities, is very prone to a glut of short-term lenders that offer very predatory loans,” said Joe McNamara, an attorney for the city.

“These fees accumulate, and you can get anywhere from 100 to 500 percent interest on these loans,” he said.

Read more: http://www.toledoblade.com/local/2016/12/01/Toledo-mulls-limiting-payday-loan-firms-Proposal-to-toughen-zoning-restrictions.html

Hard times for Kansas as economic experiment creates gaping budget hole

COLUMBUS, Kan. — In February 2015, three years into the supply-side economics experiment that would upend a once steady Midwestern economy, a hole appeared in Kansas’ finances.

To fill it, Gov. Sam Brownback took $45 million in public education funding. By April of this year, with the hole at $290 million, Brownback took highway money to plug it. A month later, state money for Medicaid coverage went into the hole, but the gap continued to grow.

Today, the state’s budget hole is $345 million and threatens the foundation of this state, which was supposed to be the setting for a grand economic expansion but now more closely resembles a battleground, with accusations and lawsuits flying over how to get the state’s finances in order.

The yawning deficits were caused by huge tax cuts, championed by Brownback and the Republican-dominated Legislature, that were supposed to set the economy roaring. They didn’t. The budget shortfalls have been felt across the state, particularly by public schools, and have embroiled the Kansas Supreme Court along with state lawmakers and the governor.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2016/11/27/hard-times-for-kansas-as-economic-experiment-creates-gaping-budget-hole.html

Ohio legislature likely to pass 2 anti-abortion bills in lame-duck session

Anti-abortion advocates are pushing Ohio legislators to pass two anti-abortion bills when they reconvene this week for the lame-duck session of the General Assembly.

Senate Bill 127 would outlaw abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Ohio bans the procedure after 24 weeks.

Senate Bill 254 would require abortion clinics to cremate or bury fetal remains.

Backed by the influential organization Ohio Right to Life, both bills have cleared the Senate and await action by the House, which is expected to add its approvals, reporter Catherine Candisky observes.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/27/1-capitol-insider-ohio-legislature-likely-to-pass-2-anti-abortion-bills-in-lame-duck-session.html

Bill would force review of $8 billion in Ohio tax breaks

The latest attempt to force Ohio officials to seriously examine the more than $8 billion worth of tax credits, exemptions and deductions the state provides each year hit at least a temporary snag Tuesday.

Various lawmakers over the years have talked about the need to study and potentially alter the so-called tax expenditures that have such a major impact on state revenues. But the talk generally has not produced action — most of the tax breaks are fiercely guarded by various interests.

House Bill 9 would formally study the tax expenditures.

The bill would create a bipartisan review committee, with six lawmakers and a member of the Department of Taxation, to review each of Ohio’s 128 tax expenditures at least once every eight years. The committee would issue a report with each new budget on whether the expenditures are performing their economic goals, and recommend changes or elimination.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/11/30/supporters-still-hope-8-billion-in-tax-breaks-will-get-examined.html

Ohio State stadium ushers lose jobs due to pension regulation

Larry Binford misses his old ushering duties at Ohio Stadium.

“We were more interactive with the people, and, of course, we got to see the band come on the field, the players come on the field," he said. "Now we don’t see any of that.”

Binford, 65, will still work at Ohio State's game against Michigan today but not in his previous role as a portal chief (an usher supervisor in charge of a section of the stadium). The Columbus resident had to give it up because of a health-insurance change that this year began affecting some retired public employees.

Basically, earning payment for the work — no matter how little the amount — makes workers ineligible for a health-care reimbursement provided by the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. It offsets the cost of buying supplemental Medicare coverage and is worth $337 a month or more.

Read more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2016/11/26/osu-stadium-ushers-lose-jobs-due-to-pension-regulation.html

Ohio bill would curb assault on property rights