By Mani Dabiri | Published October 16, 2019 | Posted in Civil Business Litigation and Investigations, Government Subpoenas and Investigations, White-Collar and Regulatory Defense | Tagged Tags: healthandhumanservices, healthcare, HHS, HIPAA |
Don’t Violate HIPAA Fighting Bad Yelp Reviews
Healthcare providers, beware: You cannot respond to bad online reviews by disclosing your patients’ protected health information (or PHI). As you know, PHI refers to any health information that identifies or could be used to identify a patient. If you’re not sure what counts, do your homework or call your lawyer. But don’t disclose it Read More
Read MoreMore Varsity Blues
As the college-admissions scandal winds its way through court, California’s clawing back the money. The tax money, that is. A few days ago, the state enacted a new law that scrutinizes all tax deductions these defendants may have taken for charitable donations to any college or university. It applies to every tax year beginning with 2014. It also denies Read More
Read MoreThe Lure of Free Cancer Screenings
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department announced a major takedown of telemedicine that it says went too far. It’s among the bigger healthcare-fraud sweeps to date: 35 people charged with over $2.1 billion in false or fraudulent bills. The defendants hail from telemedicine companies and genetic-testing labs and include nine physicians. They reportedly billed Medicare for tens Read More
Read MoreThe Judiciary Act of 1789
No one gets it right all the time, and that includes courts. But 230 years ago today, an act of Congress created the country’s federal courts, and that’s worth celebrating. You may not know this, but the only court required by the Constitution was the Supreme Court. It left the rest to Congress. Here’s what Read More
Read MoreYou Cannot Be Serious
The Fourth Amendment is supposed to protect your right to be secure against “unreasonable searches and seizures.” Those are the actual words of the text, which is why I put them in quotes. But earlier this month, the federal court of appeals that covers California and eight other states could not say whether it violated the Fourth Amendment Read More
Read MoreMy 9/11 Memory
Do you remember where you were? I was 22 years old, and I was at a small fitness center in the apartment complex we lived in. It was early, and I was the only one in there. I got on the treadmill, wearing earphones, listening to music, and absent-mindedly looking at a TV that was Read More
Read MoreWhen the Government Goes to Trial
Every now and then, a court will speak to the core of the laws that govern our way of life. Last week, the California Court of Appeal said something profound for the 21st century. Sure, it’s been said before but maybe not in this way, updated for the modern day, spelled out in language we all understand. Read More
Read MoreYou’ve (Still) Got (Money) Bail
California’s bail system is proceeding along two tracks for now. On one hand, around this time last year, the state passed a law to eliminate money bail. We broke down the new law in detail here, and we weighed its pros and cons here. The law was supposed to go into effect this October, but opponents have since Read More
Read MoreProsecutors Endorse Pell Grants for Prisoners
On Thursday, the nation’s largest organization for prosecutors endorsed an idea we touched on a few weeks ago. Let people in prison apply for federal grants toward higher education. Don’t cut them off completely. In the press release, the National District Attorney Association backs a federal bill that would restore eligibility for Pell grants to prisoners Read More
Read MoreA Feel-Good Story From Our Backyard
Earlier this month, a group of law students from the University of California, Irvine did something special: they won the release of an elderly inmate based on the law of compassionate release. That is not easy to do. Before a recent new law, it was nearly impossible, and even now, it’s exceedingly rare. But the man Read More
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