Unlawful Medicare and Medicaid Referrals Under Stark Statute

In 1989, the United States Congress enacted the Stark statute which made it illegal for physicians to make self-referrals and prevented physicians from referring Medicare or Medicaid patients for certain designated health services to any entity with which the physician has a financial interest. The purpose of this law was to remove economic incentives that may encourage some physicians to make self-referrals or to refer certain designated health services to entities in which the physician has a financial interest, instead of referrals based on a patient's health and well being.

Stark Violation Claims and Stark Violation Lawsuits

Stark violations occur when a physician (as defined by Medicare) unlawfully refers Medicare or Medicaid patients to an entity in which the physician or the physician's immediate family has a financial interest. In these situations the physician is usually making these referrals for the purpose of the physician's own financial gain and is not working in the best interest of their patients. Repeated violations of the Stark Statute can create substantial wealth for self referring doctors and can cost tax payers millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of dollars. These violations can also be hard to detect by the government and patients. For this reason it is often health care administrators, hospital administrators, benefit coordinators, accountants, and other health care professionals that are able to discover fraudulent referral practices and blow the whistle on the unlawful practice.

Violations of the Stark Statute can result in both criminal and civil penalties for the self referring doctor as well as others benefiting from the fraudulent referral practices. Whistle blowers that properly blow the whistle on these unlawful referrals can not only regain large amounts of money for the United States government, saving tax payers millions of dollars that the physician and/or the entity have taken from the federal government, but the whistle blower can also collect a percentage of this recovery as compensation for bringing a Federal False Claim Act lawsuit that reveals these fraudulent referral practices.

The History and Evolution of the Stark Statute

The Stark Statute is named after California Representative Pete Stark who authored this legislation to prevent fraudulent referral practices that compromised the health of patients, cost the government billions of dollars, and made unethical doctors rich at the expense of patients and taxpayers. Congressman Pete Stark first proposed the Federal physician anti self-referral law in 1988, and what became known as "Stark I" was enacted by the Congress in 1989. At the same time Congress overhauled Medicare's physician payment program and adopted the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale (RBRVS) which is a system used to determine how much money medical providers should be paid by Medicare. The Stark I law initially applied only to clinical laboratory services and became effective with the Medicare fee schedule on January 1, 1992. The Health Care Financing Administration proposed implementing regulations for Stark I in March of 1992, and these rules were finalized on August 14, 1995. They have been codified at 42 C.F.R. 411.350 et seq.

In 1993, Medicare and Medicaid amendments were enacted by Congress that significantly expanded the Stark law to cover a long list of designated health services in addition to clinical lab services. These amendments added the referral prohibition to additional designated health services including: inpatient and outpatient hospital services; physical therapy; occupational therapy; radiology; radiation therapy (services and supplies); durable medical equipment and supplies; parenteral and enteral nutrients (equipment and supplies); prosthetics, orthotics and prosthetic devices and supplies; outpatient prescription drugs; and home health services. These amendments, which became effective January 1, 1995, became known as "Stark II."

Medicare and Medicaid Referral Violation Law Suits
(Qui Tam Law Suits)

Through Whistle Blower Lawsuits, Qui Tam Lawsuits, and other Health Care Fraud Lawsuits, hundreds of billions of dollars have been recovered from individuals and organizations that have committed health care fraud and stolen large amounts of money from the government. For more information on Stark Statute Violations and Medicare or Medicaid Referral Violation Law Suit, please go to the following web page on Medicare and Medicaid Referral Fraud Stark Violation Law Suits.

Texas and Interstate Truck Accident Lawsuits and Insurance Claims

In handling Texas and Interstate Truck Wreck Lawsuits, it is important to realize that multiple insurance companies and risk management departments may be involved in evaluating an automobile accident claim. Both insurance companies and risk management departments have professionals whose jobs are to limit the amount that their insurance company or risk management department pays on any claim regardless of the liability facts or damages. It is therefore important to make sure that victims of a fatal or a catastrophic injury truck wreck are protected from insurance adjusters, risk managers, insurance investigators, and defense lawyers.

Interstate Truck Accident Lawsuits and Insurance Claims

Interstate Trucking Companies are governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and must carry liability insurance for accidents that their drivers may cause that result in bodily injury or death. These insurance policies make sure that people who are injured or the families of those killed by negligent interstate truck drivers can be compensated up to the policy limits for damages that have been suffered. These damages can include wrongful death damages, medical expenses, physical impairment, pain & suffering, disfigurement, and lost wages. Evidence of these damages is usually required for large recoveries including obtaining policy limits on an interstate truck accident claim.

Texas Truck Accident Lawsuits and Insurance Claims

Texas requires minimum liability coverage for commercial vehicles not regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In handling Texas Commercial Truck Collision Claims, it is important to investigate all known insurance on each automobile, driver, and vehicle owner involved in the collision to maximize the recovery that is made for the injured person or the family of the deceased. In locating insurance and all potential sources of recovery, it is important to review all potential parties that be liable for the accident to determine their insurance and or their ability to pay a large verdict.

Texas and Interstate Truck Accident Lawyer and Information

For more information on Texas Commercial Truck Accident Lawsuits or Interstate Truck Accident Lawsuits, please go to the following Fatal and Serious Injury Truck Collision Web Page.

Military Medical Malpractice Claims and Lawsuits

With the sharp rise in the number of our service personnel in the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines that have served the United States in the Iraq War and Afghanistan War has come an increase in the number of veterans and families of military personnel that rely on the military for medical services. At the same time the demand for quality military medical services has increased the budget and ability of the United States government to pay for these services for our country's service personnel and veterans has decreased. These factors have stressed many military hospitals and military medical service professionals to create environments where military medical malpractice is becoming more common.

Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuits & Military Doctor Negligence Claims

As a Texas medical malpractice lawyer Jason Coomer handles Federal medical malpractice lawsuits, Military medical malpractice lawsuits, VA medical malpractice lawsuits, Texas medical malpractice lawsuits, army doctor negligence claims, and federal medical malpractice claims including emergency room errors, post-surgical infections, birth injury, wrongful amputation, unwarranted testing of experimental drugs on patients, and other kinds of inadequate or unethical treatment birth injuries, drug interactions, medication errors, misdiagnoses (failure to diagnose cancer, spine injuries, heart problems or disease), surgical errors (bariatric surgery errors, spine surgery errors, heart surgery errors, simple surgery errors), Cerebral Palsy, Erb’s Palsy, monitoring errors, and errors resulting in hypoxia.

Common Causes of Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuits and Negligent VA, Army, and Navy Doctors

Unfortunately, medical mistakes often happen when military doctors and nurses get too busy, are understaffed by hospital administrators, are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, are not well organized, are under poor hospital administration, or are just not paying attention. As Veterans Administration Hospital, Navy Hospital, Army Hospital, and other Military Hospital medical budgets decrease, healing people becomes more difficult and is less of a priority than saving money sometimes creating cost cutting measures and poor hospital administration policies that cause under supported military doctors, military nurses, and military medical professionals to commit more medical mistakes. Overworked military doctors, residents, and nurses are much more likely to make mistakes than well rested health care professionals.

Medical mistakes also happen more often when no one is watching. It is extremely important when you are in the hospital to have someone that is with you and to help watch out for your well being. This is especially true if you have an allergy to certain types of medicines, are going to be unconscious or under antistesia, or on strong pain killers. In such, situations it is typically a good idea to have a person that you trust to be your health care advocate with a valid HIPPA Authorization, Medical Power of Attorney, and Power of Attorney. Communication with your health care professionals and your health care advocate is also important and can greatly limit medical mistakes.

If you feel you or need a Military medical malpractice lawyer because you or a loved one has been seriously injured by medical negligence or someone close to you has died as a result of medical negligence or a doctor mistake, it is important to investigate the claim and make sure that it does not happen again.

Communication Prevents Many Medical Mistakes

Military Doctors, Army Doctors, Navy Doctors, Air Force Doctors, and Veterans Administration Hospitals typically provide quality medical care, but sometimes mistakes are made. It is always a good idea to have someone that you trust look out after you when you are in the hospital. This person can communicate important information regarding your condition and watch out for you when you are in the hospital. It is important to make sure that you or your medical advocate communicate with health care professionals to limit the mistakes that are made.

However, even with proper communication medical mistakes can be made. If a mistake is made, it is important to report the mistake and if the mistake causes serious injury or death it is important to investigate a potential federal medical malpractice claim and potential lawsuits. This is because medical mistakes that no one knows about will not be noticed and will not result in future better medical care. Medical mistakes that are reported will help other patients and are an essential part of the feedback needed to improve our health care delivery system.

For more information on Military Medical Malpractice Claims and Preventing Military Medical Malpractice, go to the following web page on Military Medical Malpractice Lawsuits or seek an attorney's advice on setting up a health care advocate for loved ones going into a hospital.

Texas Commercial Truck Accident Lawsuits and Company Vehicle Lawsuits

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, thousands of motorists are killed each year by commercial vehicles including large trucks, specialized vans, modified company trucks, specialized company SUVs, and company cars. These commercial vehicles are too often driven by under trained, inexperienced, and/or over worked drivers that are under pressure to drive fast as well as keep maintenance costs down. These factors combined with distractions in the vehicles including cell phones, GPS devices, computers, paper work, radio communications, and other employees can cause fatal automobile accidents.

Whether a company driver is driving a large commercial vehicle such as a bus, passenger van, 18-wheeler, dump truck, propane truck, garbage truck, construction truck, semi-trucks, tractor-trailer, utility truck, hauling truck, or semi, or smaller commercial vehicles such as an SUV, passenger vehicle, limo, or taxi cab, it is important that the driver be trained to operate the commercial vehicle they are driving and have their driving record reviewed. Unfortunately, some businesses neither train their drivers nor do a proper investigation to determine if the drivers to which they are entrusting their commercial vehicles have a history of reckless driving, have caused several accidents, have DWI accidents in their past, have a history of driving drunk or under the influence of drugs, or have no experience driving the vehicles that they are given. These failures can lead to negligent entrustment that causes an accident, wreck, or collision resulting in serious injuries, catastrophic injuries, or even death.

Texas Truck Accident Lawyer and Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuits

Truck and other commercial vehicle accidents can result in fatal passenger accidents, catastrophic injuries, and significant damages to families. It is therefore important for businesses to make sure that their company vehicles, especially, large commercial vehicles are driven by experienced and well trained drivers that do not have histories of reckless and unsafe driving, DWI accidents, fatal accidents, drinking & driving, or driving under the influence.

For more information on Texas Commercial Truck Accident Lawsuits or Texas Company Vehicle Accident Lawsuits, please go to the following web page on Texas Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawsuits.

Investment Fraud, Negligence, and Ponzi Schemes

Ponzi Schemes are fraudulent investment scams that pay returns to investors from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors rather than from any actual profit earned. Their name comes from Charles Ponzi, who duped thousands of people into investing in a postage stamp speculation scheme back in the 1920s. Ponzi thought he could take advantage of differences between U.S. and foreign currencies used to buy and sell international mail coupons. Ponzi told investors that he could provide a 40% return in just 90 days compared with 5% for bank savings accounts. Ponzi was deluged with funds from investors, taking in $1 million during one three-hour period. Though a few early investors were paid off to make the scheme look legitimate, an investigation found that Ponzi had only purchased about $30 worth of the international mail coupons. Now the term "Ponzi Scheme" applies to investment scheme that "rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul", money from new investors is used to pay off earlier investors until the whole scheme collapses.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Conflicts, and Failure of Checks and Balances

With the Madoff and Stanford Group Investment Fraud Allegations has come other allegations that stock brokers, lawyers, accountants, fund managers, investment firms, auditors, and other companies and people that should have recognized fraud have committed negligence, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, conflicts of interest, and other violations of law that may make them liable for investors' losses. Many investors are beginning to realize that their may be a way to recoup some or most of the money that they lost from their retirement funds, life savings, or other investment.

For more information on large investment fraud news and allegations or seeking compensation for a breach of fiduciary duty, conflict of interest, or failure of checks and balances, please go to the following web page on Investment Fraud, Ponzi Schemes, Conflicts of Interest, Negligence, and Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims.

Gadolinium Contract Dye and Nephrogenic System Fibrosis Lawsuits

Gadolinium is a rare earth metal that can be put into dyes and injected into the blood stream to enhance MRI and MRA images. Unfortunately, the use of Gadolinium contrast dyes in people can cause nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney problems. Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis is a debilitating and potentially fatal disease for which there is no known cure. It is believed that even though some pharmaceutical companies knew about the painful, debilitating, and life-threatening side effects of Gadolinium contrast dyes as early as April 2006, they hid the potential problems caused by the use of Gadolinium in dyes. Though they sold more products, the continued use of dyes with Gadolinium has likely unnecessarily injured and killed many people.

Gadolinium Contract Dye and Nephrogenic System Fibrosis

Persons with kidney problems should avoid any dyes with Gadolinium and should be aware of this potential danger if they are having an MRI or MRA done. Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) or Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy is a rare and serious syndrome that involves fibrosis of skin, joints, eyes, and internal organs. Scientific research has recently discovered an association between nephrogenic system fibrosis with exposure to gadolinium in patients with severe kidney failure.

In NSF, patients develop large areas of hardened skin with fibrotic nodules and plaques. Flexion contractures with an accompanying limitation of range of motion can also occur. NSF resembles scleromyxedema at the histologic (microscopic) level; it shows a proliferation of dermal fibroblasts and dendritic cells, thickened collagen bundles, increased elastic fibers, and deposits of mucin.

People that have had MRIs and are having unexplained symptoms including skin hardening, fibrotic nodules, strange lesions, deep pain, joint pain, and inability to walk or use of their joints, should contact their doctors to determine if they have Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF), Nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy, or renal insufficiency.

For more information on Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis or a potential Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis law suit, feel free to go to the following web page Nephrogenic System Fibrosis and MRI Contrast Dye Lawsuits.