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Tag: Florida health law defense attorney

HHS Releases Final Substance Use Disorder Confidentiality Rule

By: George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a final rule modifying the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records federal regulations (42 C.F.R. Part 2). The new regulation will supposedly […]

Follow These Simple Rules To Keep Your License & Avoid Complaints If You Are a Counselor or Psychotherapists

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the […]

A Criminal Record Can Prevent You from Obtaining Your License in Florida

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Someone arrested for a criminal offense knows that it can lead to a criminal record that may or may not be on your record for the rest of your life. However, once you pay your fine and carry […]

Centene to Pay Washington State $19 Million to Resolve Medicaid Fraud Allegations

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 24, 2022, managed healthcare company, Centene Corporation, agreed to pay $19 million to the State of Washington to settle fraud allegations. Centene owns and operates Sunshine State Health Plan, d/b/a Sunshine Health, in Florida. In addition, […]

Tele-behavioral Health: Important Legal Considerations for Mental Health Providers

By Amanda I. Forbes, J.D. Starting in 2020 and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, tele-behavioral health services, also known as “e-counseling,” rapidly expanded. Because individuals were quarantined or fearful to venture out, remote mental health care services became very popular among patients. A study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), including 36 […]

Mental Health Counselors and Psychotherapists: Simple Rules for Keeping Your License and Avoiding Complaints

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the […]

Medicare Revocation and the Collateral Damage It Can Cause Health Care Providers

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Many healthcare professionals are unaware of the adverse long-term collateral effects of Medicare revocation or exclusion on their careers and future employment. However, if you are a physician, dentist, nurse, mental health counselor, psychologist, pharmacist, physician assistant, nurse […]

Centene Reaches $166 Million Settlement With Texas Over Its Medicaid Drug Pricing

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The nation’s largest Medicaid insurer, Centene, has agreed to pay $165.6 million to Texas to resolve claims that it overcharged the state’s Medicaid program for pharmacy services. The deal was signed on July 11, 2022, but wasn’t publicly […]

Mental Health Counselors and Psychotherapists: Follow These Simple Rules for Keeping Your License and Avoiding Complaints

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the […]

Counselors and Psychotherapists: Simple Rules for Keeping Your License and Avoiding Complaints

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the […]

Simple Rules for Keeping Your License and Avoiding Complaints for Counselors and Psychotherapists

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I represent many mental health counselors, social workers, psychologists, and professional counselors, defending them on complaints being investigated against their professional licenses. Many complaints and investigations arise because the therapist has strayed over the line and crossed the […]

Laws Governing ESAs and Service Animals, Part 3 of 3

By Amanda I. Forbes, J.D. This is part 3 of 3 in a blog series regarding the differences between Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. Read part 1 and part 2. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) is a federal law that “prohibits discrimination in housing because of: race or color, national origin, religion, sex, familial […]

Certifying Emotional Support Animals and Protecting Your License, Part 1 of 2

By Amanda I. Forbes, J.D., and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified in Health Law In today’s stress-filed world if you are a mental health counselor or other professional counselor, it is likely that you will encounter a client seeking to obtain an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) designation letter from you. Providing […]

Got a Complaint Against Your Massage Therapist or Physical Therapist License? You Need an HPSO Insurance Attorney to Defend You

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Many massage therapists and physical therapists carry professional malpractice insurance through the Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) or one of the other similar professional liability insurance companies. What they may not realize is that their insurance will pay […]

Hospital Countersues Whistleblower for Failing to Report Conduct Internally First

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 13, 2019, a West Virginia hospital facing a whistleblower lawsuit countersued a former employee who filed the False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against the health system. Wheeling Hospital alleges that the former executive, who is the […]

Finding a Healthcare Provider Service Organization (HPSO) Insurance Attorney to Defend you in a Complaint Against Your Mental Health Counselor or Social Workers License

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Many licensed mental health counselors (LMHCs), licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs), licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT), and other mental health professionals carry professional malpractice insurance through the Healthcare Providers Service Organization (HPSO) or one of the many […]

Hospital Countersues FCA Whistleblower for Failing to Report Information Internally

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 13, 2019, a West Virginia hospital facing a whistleblower lawsuit countersued a former employee who filed the False Claims Act (FCA) lawsuit against the health system. Wheeling Hospital alleges that the former executive, who is the […]

Health Care Professionals Need to be Compliant with Anti-Fraud Laws

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The federal government has several tools available to help combat Medicare fraud. Among those are the Stark Act, Anti-Kickback laws and Civil Monetary Penalty Laws. Each of these typically focuses on a particular type of behavior that is […]

Autistic Kids in Florida May Lose Care as Medicaid fraud Investigation Continues

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 26, 2018, state investigators revealed that six behavioral therapists in Florida billed the state for “impossible” days of service that at times indicated they worked for more than 24 hours in a day. The six therapists, […]

CMS Issues Final Rule to Revise Home Health Conditions of Participation

By George F. Indest III, J.D. M.P.A., L.L.M., The Health Law Firm On January 13, 2017, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that revises the conditions of participation (CoPs) that home health agencies (HHAs) must meet to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid. The requirements focus on the care […]

It is Always a Bad Idea for a Doctor, Nurse or Health Professional to . . . .

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law My experience in representing doctors, nurses and other licensed health professionals in disciplinary cases has lead me to conclude, us to conclude, its is always a bad idea for them to: 1. Write a prescription for any medication […]

Licensed Health Professionals Should Have No Trouble Locating an Attorney/Legal Counsel Who Takes CPH & Associates (CPH&A) Insurance To Represent Them in Licensing Actions and Hearings

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law We often hear from licensed health professionals who call and retain us to represent them in complaints against their professional licenses in investigations and formal licensure complaints. Often these professionals retain us after adverse disciplinary action has already […]

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Medicare/Medicaid Audits, Health Care Law, Contracts, Hospital Privileges Hearings, Investigations, DEA Defense, Board of Medicine Defense, Healthcare Fraud Defense, Medical Staff Fair Hearings, Administrative Hearings, PRN, IPN, Professional Licensing, Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Defense, Nursing Law, Hospital Peer Review,  Hospital Law, Board of Dentistry, Board of Nursing Complaint Defense, Board of Pharmacy, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) Defense, Search Warrant and Subpoena Defense, NBME Representation, USMLE Challenges, ABIM Representation, Resident Physician Defense, VA & Military Physician Defense, Department of Health Investigation Defense, and more…

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