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Medical Debt Returning To Americans' Credit Reports After Judge Reverses Biden-Era Rule Medical Debt Returning To Americans' Credit Reports After Judge Reverses Biden-Era Rule
Medical Debt Returning To Americans' Credit Reports After Judge Reverses Biden-Era Rule A federal judge in Texas has overturned a Biden-era rule that removed medical debt from Americans' credit reports. Judge Sean Jordan scrapped the regulation in a ruling on Friday, July 11. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized the rule on Tuesday, Jan. 7, about two weeks before former President Joe Biden left office. The decision came exactly a week after President Donald Trump signed the previously named "One Big Beautiful Bill" into law. Experts warn that the Republican-backed budget reconciliation legislation makes sweeping cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, while incr…

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by Chris Spiker
News
$14B+ Scheme: DOJ Charges 324 In Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown Ever $14B+ Scheme: DOJ Charges 324 In Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown Ever
$14B+ Scheme: DOJ Charges 324 In Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown Ever The Justice Department just pulled off a record-breaking sting that spanned the globe, targeted doctors and drug traffickers, and exposed a fraud web stretching across dozens of states. A total of 324 people, including 96 licensed medical professionals, have been charged in connection with a staggering $14.6 billion in alleged healthcare fraud, DOJ  announced on Monday, June 30. Federal prosecutors say it’s the largest healthcare fraud takedown in US history, involving defendants across 50 federal districts and 12 State Attorneys General Offices.  Charges span a range of schemes …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
EXCLUSIVE: Woman Accused Of Scamming SZA Now Charged In $560K Hospital Fraud Case EXCLUSIVE: Woman Accused Of Scamming SZA Now Charged In $560K Hospital Fraud Case
Exclusive: Woman Accused Of Scamming SZA Now Charged In $560K Hospital Fraud Case A New Jersey woman who allegedly scammed Grammy-winning singer SZA and launched a suicide fundraiser is now criminally charged with stealing over $560,000 in hospital services by faking sickle cell anemia, authorities announced on Wednesday, May 28. Taleah Javon McKnight, 30, is facing one felony count each of Theft by Deception and Theft of Services, according to East Hempfield Township police and the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office. McKnight has previously lived at addresses in Roselle Park and Rahway, Union County, as well as Carteret, Middlesex County, New Jersey, accor…

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by Jillian Pikora
News
Trump To Sign Order Tying US Drug Prices To Lowest In World Trump To Sign Order Tying US Drug Prices To Lowest In World
Trump To Sign Order Tying US Drug Prices To Lowest In World President Donald Trump announced plans to issue an executive order aimed at slashing the cost of certain prescription drugs. It will be issued on Monday, May 12, will instruct the US Department of Health and Human Services to align Medicare payments for medications administered in a doctor’s office with the lowest price paid by other countries. Trump said in a social media post Sunday night, May 11, that he will be instituting a most favored nation's policy "whereby the United States will pay the same price as the nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the world. "Our country w…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
Longtime CT Eye Doctor Sentenced For Bogus Brain Scan Scheme Longtime CT Eye Doctor Sentenced For Bogus Brain Scan Scheme
Longtime CT Eye Doctor Sentenced For Bogus Brain Scan Scheme A longtime ophthalmologist in Connecticut will have to pay back over $1 million and spend time in federal lockup after confessing that he ordered unnecessary brain scans to line his pockets. Hartford County resident Donald Salzberg, age 69, of Avon, was sentenced to one year in prison in Boston federal court on Thursday, May 9. It came nearly two years after Salzberg, who operated Salzberg, M.D. on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford for nearly 40 years, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and receive kickbacks. Earlier Report: Popular CT Eye Doctor Admits To Tak…

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by Michael Mashburn
Business
'Cheated': Recovery Centers Across Mass Close, Operators Charged With Millions In Fraud: Feds 'Cheated': Recovery Centers Across Mass Close, Operators Charged With Millions In Fraud: Feds
'Cheated': Recovery Centers Across Mass Close, Operators Charged With Millions In Fraud: Feds Instead of fostering recovery, the operator of a chain of addiction treatment centers used his position to launder money, steal millions of dollars, and write prescriptions under doctors' names without permission, said the US attorney's office.  Michael Brier, of Newton, used his position as operator of Recovery Connections Centers of America to rake in millions of dollars from Medicare, Medicaid, and other such organizations by falsifying healthcare claims, back-dating documents, and writing prescriptions using the names of doctors without their permission, according to Unite…

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by Morgan Gonzales
News
CT Doctor Admits To Getting Kickbacks In Exchange For Ordering Unnecessary Procedures CT Doctor Admits To Getting Kickbacks In Exchange For Ordering Unnecessary Procedures
CT Doctor Admits To Getting Kickbacks In Exchange For Ordering Unnecessary Procedures A Connecticut eye doctor was paid handsomely from a five-year fraudulent medical billing scheme that netted millions of dollars. Hartford County resident Donald Salzberg, age 67, of Avon, pleaded guilty Thursday, July 14, to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to receive kickbacks in federal court in Boston. Prosecutors said that between 2014 and 2019 Salzberg, who owned and operated an ophthalmology practice in West Hartford, conspired with a principal for a medical diagnostics company to order hundreds of unnecessary brain scans. Salzburg and h…

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by Michael Mashburn
News
Dental Office Manager In Region Admits To Role In Medicare Fraud Scheme Dental Office Manager In Region Admits To Role In Medicare Fraud Scheme
Dental Office Manager In Region Admits To Role In Medicare Fraud Scheme A Massachusetts woman has pleaded guilty to her participation in a scheme to defraud the Massachusetts Medicaid program commonly known as MassHealth. Robin Cronin, age 58, of Worcester, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and one count of health care fraud, according to the US Attorney's Office. In January 2020, Cronin was indicted along with Dr. Anthony DiStefano and Dr. Scott Cale, dentists practicing in Worcester, for their roles in the Medicare fraud scheme. According to the indictment, from 2014 to 2018, the dental services that DiStefano personally d…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Massachusetts Psychiatrist Charged For Allegedly Illegally Prescribing Medication To Patients Massachusetts Psychiatrist Charged For Allegedly Illegally Prescribing Medication To Patients
Massachusetts Psychiatrist Charged For Allegedly Illegally Prescribing Medication To Patients A psychiatrist in Massachusetts is facing charges for allegedly illegally prescribing controlled substances to patients and scheming to defraud the Medicare program, authorities announced. Mohamad Och, age 65, of Worcester, was indicted on eight counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of health care fraud for allegedly illegally prescribing Adderall, Xanax and Klonopin to patients and running a health care fraud scheme. According to U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Mendell, Och, who owned and operated Island Counseling Center (ICC), in Worcester, and has practiced ps…

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by Zak Failla
News
COVID-19: Don't Fall For These Vaccine-Related Scams, Police Say COVID-19: Don't Fall For These Vaccine-Related Scams, Police Say
Covid-19: Don't Fall For These Vaccine-Related Scams, Police Say The rise in Americans going out and getting the COVID-19 vaccine has also brought about a rise in the number of opportunistic scammers looking to take advantage of the pandemic, law enforcement officials are cautioning. An alert was issued by police in the area regarding COVID-19 vaccine scams that have been reported to law enforcement agencies across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), scammers have been using telemarketing calls, text messages, social media platforms, and door-to-door visits to perpetrate COVID-…

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by Zak Failla
News
Trump Built a National Debt So Big - Before COVID-19 - It’ll Weigh Down The Economy For Years Trump Built a National Debt So Big - Before COVID-19 - It’ll Weigh Down The Economy For Years
Trump Built a National Debt So Big - Before Covid-19 - It’ll Weigh Down The Economy For Years The “King of Debt” promised to reduce the national debt — then his tax cuts made it surge. Add in the pandemic, and he oversaw the third-biggest deficit increase of any president. One of President Donald Trump’s lesser-known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids with debt, Propublica reported. The national debt has risen by almost $7.8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. That’s nearly twice as much …

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by Allan Sloan, ProPublica, and Cezary Podkul for ProPublica Jan. 14, 5 a.m. EST
News
COVID-19: Beware Of These Vaccine Scams, FBI, DOJ Warn COVID-19: Beware Of These Vaccine Scams, FBI, DOJ Warn
Covid-19: Beware Of These Vaccine Scams, FBI, DOJ Warn Scammers are using the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States to trick people into paying for doses or early access that never comes, federal authorities are warning. As COVID-19 vaccines become more available, there has been a spike in scams seeking to exploit people’s desire to protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus, according to the U.S. Department of Justice as well as local police departments and other law enforcement agencies. “Members of the public should be suspicious of unexpected or unsolicited contact from anyone unknown to them claiming to have inform…

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by Kristin Palpini