May 1, 2019

Pete Buttigieg gave an answer on vaccine exemptions. He changed it after criticism.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg changed his answer to a national news organization's questions about vaccines, saying that he backed exemptions only for medical reasons after initially saying he also supported "personal belief and religious exemptions" in some instances.

The campaign's initial response drew criticism online and follows a growing number of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in Indiana and across the nation.

Buttigieg responded to three questions he and many other 2020 presidential candidates were asked by BuzzFeed News for a story that posted Tuesday night. They are:

1) What do you believe about vaccines?

2) Do you believe vaccines are a possible cause of autism?

3) Do you support efforts to end religious and personal belief exemptions, leaving only medical exemptions?

Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/05/01/pete-buttigieg-vaccines/3639678002/

May 1, 2019

Amtrak ending Indianapolis-to-Chicago route with funding cut

LAFAYETTE — Amtrak will pull the plug at the end of June on its Hoosier State passenger line between Indianapolis and Chicago with the loss of funding in Indiana's new state budget.

Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said the four-days-a-week train won't run after June 30, which is when its $3 million annual state subsidy ends.

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb didn't seek a continuation of that funding, with administration officials saying the subsidy of about $100 per passenger was too high and ridership numbers too low.

Amtrak stopped in April taking reservations beyond June for the Hoosier State's trips on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Read more: https://www.hoosiertimes.com/ap/state/amtrak-ending-indianapolis-to-chicago-route-with-funding-cut/article_93f6efcb-141a-523a-9e8b-2198d6149c73.html

May 1, 2019

Former Sen. Joe Donnelly's new initiative: Teach Democrats to value rural voters

Former Sens. Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp are teaming up to launch a new initiative aimed at helping Democrats reach rural voters.

Both lost their re-election bids last year in red states, where Donald Trump won by double-digit margins in 2016 — Donnelly, here in Indiana, and Heitkamp in North Dakota.

Now, they're starting a project called One Country. Its goal: Teach Democrats how to reconnect with voters from the heartland.

"On issues of faith and family and country, Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to take those as his," Donnelly said Thursday. "Those are Democrat values as well. We need to talk about them."

Read more: https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/27/joe-donnellys-new-initiative-teach-democrats-value-rural-voters/3573371002/

May 1, 2019

Will Joaquin Castro Challenge John Cornyn After All?

Where is Joaquin Castro? About a month ago, news reports indicated that the U.S. congressman from San Antonio was days away from announcing he would challenge incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. But Castro hasn’t said much since then.

Abby Livingston, Washington bureau chief for The Texas Tribune, says she believes Castro will announce his decision soon, perhaps by Wednesday. She says Democrats, and Castro, in particular, may be realizing just how difficult a challenge to Cornyn could be.

“I’ve covered a lot of races … and you start planning for a Senate race a year in advance, at least,” Livingston says. “So, when all this hubbub was going on in late March, I’m looking at this, going, ‘I don’t see the evidence he’s running for Senate.'”

Livingston says Castro hasn’t taken crucial steps like meeting with Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer about his potential candidacy.

Read more: http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/will-joaquin-castro-challenge-john-cornyn-after-all/

May 1, 2019

Pharmaceutical Company Agrees to Pay $17.5 Million to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks to Medicare

Pharmaceutical Company Agrees to Pay $17.5 Million to Resolve Allegations of Kickbacks to Medicare Patients and Physicians


The Justice Department announced today that US WorldMeds LLC (USWM) has agreed to pay $17.5 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729 et seq., by paying kickbacks to patients and physicians to improperly induce prescriptions of its drugs, Apokyn® and Myobloc®. USWM is a pharmaceutical manufacturer headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

“The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that physicians’ and patients’ selection of medications is not influenced by improper financial considerations,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The nation’s health care programs and taxpayers deserve health care companies that play by the rules, including the Anti-Kickback Statute.”

“Pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare providers that pay kickbacks to patients and physicians to improperly induce drug prescriptions drive up the costs of health care and divert critical resources from the Medicare program,” said U.S. Attorney John H. Durham for the District of Connecticut. “This case originated with the filing of whistleblower lawsuits currently pending in the District of Connecticut, and the whistleblowers will be handsomely rewarded for exposing this scheme. We encourage all individuals who are aware of fraud against the government to come forward. The Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue companies and providers that defraud federal health care programs.”

When a Medicare beneficiary obtains a prescription drug covered by Medicare Part D, the beneficiary may be required to make a partial payment, which may take the form of a copayment, coinsurance, or a deductible (collectively “copays”). Congress included copay requirements in the Medicare program, in part, to encourage market forces to serve as a check on health care costs, including the prices that pharmaceutical manufacturers can demand for their drugs. Under the Anti-Kickback Statute, a pharmaceutical company is prohibited from offering, directly or indirectly, any remuneration — which includes paying patients’ copay obligations — to induce Medicare patients to purchase the company’s drugs.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/pharmaceutical-company-agrees-pay-175-million-resolve-allegations-kickbacks-medicare

May 1, 2019

Former CEO of Hospital Chain to Pay $3.46 Million to Resolve False Billing and Kickback Allegations

Gary D. Newsome, former CEO of Health Management Associates LLC (HMA), a hospital chain that was headquartered in Naples, Florida, has agreed to pay the United States $3.46 million to settle allegations that he caused HMA to knowingly submit false claims to government health care programs by admitting patients who could have been treated on a less costly, outpatient basis, the Department of Justice announced. The settlement also resolves allegations that Newsome caused HMA to pay remuneration to Emergency Department (ED) physicians in return for referrals.

“Those who bill federal health care programs for unnecessary hospital stays will be held accountable for wasting federal dollars,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “Patients deserve the unfettered, independent judgment of their health care professionals. We will pursue those who cause hospitals to offer financial incentives to physicians in return for improper patient referrals that undermine the integrity of our health care system.”

“A physician’s health care decisions should be driven by what is in the patient’s best interest, not by what helps line a provider’s pockets,” said Barbara Bowens, the Acting U.S. Attorney for South Carolina for purposes of this case. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate false claims based on unnecessary hospital admissions, which drive up health care costs and can harm patients.”

“Providers are expected to closely follow rules and bill properly. Further, in this case, the government contended that Newsome directed illegal payments for referrals,” said Derrick L. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge of the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Taxpayer money wasted is money stolen from vital government health programs.”

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-ceo-hospital-chain-pay-346-million-resolve-false-billing-and-kickback-allegations

May 1, 2019

Owner of Florida Medical Clinic Sentenced to Prison

An owner of a Florida medical clinic was sentenced to serve 91 months in prison today for her role in a $2.5 million health care fraud scheme.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan of the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge George L. Piro of the FBI’s Miami Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Shimon R. Richmond of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General’s (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Special Agent in Charge Brian Swain of the U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

Juliette Anais Tamayo, 54, the owner of Miami-based clinic Sunshine Medical Care Group Inc. (Sunshine), was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the Southern District of Florida. Judge Altonaga also ordered Tamayo to pay $2.5 million in restitution. Tamayo pleaded guilty in February 2019 to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. Also, Tamayo previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay and receive kickbacks and to defraud the United States.

Tamayo was charged in a December 2018 superseding indictment with charges stemming from her involvement in a Part A home health care and Part B medical services fraud scheme in which she sold medically unnecessary home health care prescriptions to home health agency owners who in turn billed Medicare. According to her admissions made as part of her separate pleas to the health care fraud and kickback conspiracies, Tamayo solicited and accepted kickbacks from patient recruiters and from the owners of several Miami-area home health agencies in exchange for providing prescriptions for home health services to patients at Sunshine. The prescriptions, in turn, were used by the home health agencies to bill Medicare for home health services purportedly provided to Medicare beneficiaries. Tamayo paid a portion of the kickbacks she received from the home health agencies to physicians who worked at Sunshine to induce them to write the fraudulent prescriptions. In addition, Sunshine billed Medicare directly for medical services purportedly provided at the clinic that were not necessary and/or were not provided.

Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-florida-medical-clinic-sentenced-prison

May 1, 2019

Medical equipment company owner gets 78 months in federal prison for $3.1M Medicaid fraud

McALLEN — A federal judge sentenced a McAllen woman Tuesday to more than six years in prison for her role in a scheme to defraud Medicaid, according to a news release.

U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Anna Ramirez-Ambriz to a 78-month prison term during a sentencing hearing Tuesday, the release stated.

The 57-year-old woman, who owned Compassionate Medical Supply in Edinburg, pleaded true to one count of healthcare fraud on March 31, 2017, court records show, in exchange for the dismissal of two document fraud charges.

In the January 2017 indictment filed against her, government prosecutors alleged Ramirez-Ambriz defrauded the state’s Medicaid program of millions over the course of more than six years by submitting false claims to Texas Medicaid, court records show.

Read more: https://www.themonitor.com/2019/04/30/medical-equipment-company-owner-gets-78-months-federal-prison/

DOJ Press Release:
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/operator-mcallen-area-dme-company-sentenced-health-care-fraud

May 1, 2019

UIL to require physicals for marching bands starting Aug. 1

Beginning Aug. 1, University Interscholastic League marching band students will need to pass a physical entering their first and third years of high school to participate.

The new rule also applies to any seventh- or eighth-grade student participating in marching band.

Aaron Turner, band director at Pine Tree High School, said despite some resistance surrounding the new rule, he believes it’s a positive change that can help students.

“This is just another way for us to look at and see if our students are healthy and are they healthy enough to be on the marching fields,” he said. “The physicals can open up ways to help our students in ways we didn’t know before.”

Read more: https://www.news-journal.com/news/local/uil-to-require-physicals-for-marching-bands-starting-aug/article_d351e224-66a0-11e9-b5ea-4b75140b3f03.html

May 1, 2019

Interim named after Coastal Bend College president placed on administrative leave

BEEVILLE -- Board trustees voted late Thursday to put Coastal Bend College's president on paid administrative leave following about four hours behind closed doors.

Trustees also voted to "issue a letter of intent to discharge the college president," according to a statement attributed to board chair Carroll W. Lohse, sent via email to the Caller-Times by school spokesman Bernard Saenz.

Beatriz Espinoza has been president of Coastal Bend College for nearly seven years, according to the school's website.

The special-called meeting Thursday had only one item on its agenda, to be held in executive session, that included in its description the "evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of a public officer or employee, including the College President."

Read more: https://www.caller.com/story/news/local/2019/04/25/board-trustees-voted-late-thursday-put-coastal-bend-colleges-president-paid-administrative-leave-fol/3579235002/