Novartis is using familiar faces—real patients from its Cosentyx TV commercials—to thank healthcare workers and promise support for patients. It’s a shift away from product-centered TV ads as Novartis adjusts its Cosentyx DTC effort during the COVID-19 crisis to highlight resources for patients, the drugmaker said.

The United States has intervened in a whistleblower suit filed in the District of New Mexico against Community Health Systems Inc. (CHS) and three of its hospitals in New Mexico: Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell, Mimbres Memorial Hospital in Deming, and Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas. The suit alleges that CHS and its three hospitals violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by knowingly causing to be presented to the United States false claims for federal matching Medicaid funds.

“As demonstrated by today’s charges and arrests, we will strike back against those whose fraudulent schemes not only undermine a program upon which 45 million aged and disabled Americans depend, but which also contribute directly to rising health care costs that all Americans must bear,” said Attorney General Holder.

Eight Miami-Dade County, Fla., residents have been indicted in connection with an alleged $22 million Medicare fraud scheme operated out of Miami businesses purporting to specialize in home health care services. A temporary restraining order freezing assets of the indicted defendants and their companies was also filed.

A federal grand jury in Denver has charged Donald Hertz with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act for allegedly threatening an employee of a Colorado abortion clinic.

American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. and its subsidiary Pharmacia &Pfizer”) have agreed to pay $2.3 billion, the largest health care fraud settlement in the history of the Department of Justice, to resolve criminal and civil liability arising from the illegal promotion of certain pharmaceutical products.

Detroit residents Dierdre Teagen, Robert Wynn, Ernest Neal, James Harris and Steve Sherman pleaded guilty for their roles in various Medicare fraud schemes.

“It is critical that Medicare providers base their DME purchasing decisions on what is in the best interests of their patients,” stated Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

“With the nation’s focus on health care, this settlement demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to ensuring that federal health care dollars are spent appropriately,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.

Twenty defendants have been charged in seven cases for allegedly participating in Medicare fraud schemes that resulted in more than $26 million in fraudulent bills to the Medicare program.

A federal court in Boston issued a judgment against Excel Home Care Inc. in the amount of $473,510.76 for unpaid federal employment and unemployment taxes after its owner Diane E. Porter consented to the entry of an order of permanent injunction that prohibits her or anyone else from operating this Tewksbury, Mass., home health care provider.

Detroit-area residents Baskaran Thangarasan, Sandeep Aggarwal and Wayne Smith pleaded guilty this week for their roles in connection with several Detroit-area health care fraud schemes.

The United States and the state of New York have entered into settlement agreements with three home health agencies to resolve allegations that they submitted false claims to the New York Medicaid and Medicare programs.

Jackson, Mich., resident Terrence Hicks and Detroit residents Muhammed Al Mahdi and John Saunders pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan this week for their roles in a $4.2 million Medicare fraud scheme.

“As this case demonstrates, we are committed to vigorously pursuing those who defraud Medicare.”

Manual Deluna has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with his role in Memorial Medical Supply, a Houston durable medical equipment company.

Troy, Mich., physician Toe Myint was convicted today by a Detroit jury of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in a $4.2 million Medicare Fraud scheme.

Detroit-area resident Jessica Vigil pleaded guilty today for her role in a Detroit-area home health care fraud scheme.

Sylvia Smith, 64, a retired nurse, was convicted today of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and health care fraud.

“Health care fraud affects all Americans and demands a coordinated, national response,” said Attorney General Holder.

"Today’s summit marks a critical step forward in the work being done by HEAT, our Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team," said Attorney General Holder.

Detroit-area resident Muhammad Shahab pleaded guilty today for his role in organizing a Detroit-area home health care fraud scheme.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan abandoned its attempt to purchase Physicians Health Plan of Mid-Michigan after the Department informed the companies that it would file an antitrust lawsuit to block the acquisition.

“The Justice Department is committed to vigorously pursuing those who defraud Medicare,” said Tony West, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.

Six Miami-area residents have been charged for their alleged role in a $13.6 million health care fraud scheme involving a Miami-area HIV infusion clinic, announced the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services (HHS).

Houston-area residents Doris Vinitski and John Lachman pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

Solstice executive Dmitry Shteyman, 35, and Solstice employees Aleksey Shteyman, 41; Maxsim Shvedkin, 38; and Sara Kalantarov, 22, were each charged in an indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York, with conspiracy to defraud the United States, to submit and cause the submission of false claims and to pay health care kickbacks.

Houston-area residents Basil Kalu and Ju-Ying Qian, and Louisiana resident Darnell Willis pleaded guilty today in connection with their roles in a durable medical equipment Medicare fraud scheme.

Detroit-area residents Tariq Chaudhary, Lura Barrett and Stephen Cartier pleaded guilty today for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health scheme.

Detroit-area resident Christopher Collins pleaded guilty today for his participation in a $14.5 million fraudulent Medicare home health care scheme.

"Every year, hundreds of billions of dollars are spent to provide health care for millions of American seniors, children and the disabled," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler.

"This report shows the success of our collaborative efforts to prevent, identify, and prosecute the most egregious instances of health care fraud," said Attorney General Holder.

An indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in Miami charges Flor Crisologo, 58, with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, to cause the submission of false claims to the Medicare program, and to pay health care kickbacks; one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud; and three counts of submitting false claims to the Medicare program.

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati and one of its former member hospitals, The Christ Hospital, have agreed to pay the United States $108 million to settle claims that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by paying unlawful remuneration to doctors in exchange for referring cardiac patients to The Christ Hospital in a pay-to-play scheme.

The United States has obtained a $10 million consent judgment against Intercare Health Systems Inc., formerly doing business as City of Angels Medical Center, for a Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud scheme in Los Angeles.

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati, two of its member hospitals (The Fort Hamilton Hospital and The University Hospital), and University Internal Medicine Associates Inc. have agreed to pay the United States $2.6 million to settle claims that they violated the Anti-Kickback Statute and the False Claims Act by engaging in a kickback-for-referral scheme.

"For the Department of Justice, turning the promise of the Olmstead decision into a reality for individuals with disabilities across the nation has become a major component of ADA enforcement," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez.

– Seven Houston-area residents who worked for a home health agency have been charged for their alleged participation in a $5 million Medicare fraud scheme.

Detroit-area residents Faisal Chaudry and Guy Ross pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Detroit for their participation in a fraudulent Medicare home health scheme

Ninety-four people have been charged for their alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to the Medicare program in the continuing operation of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in Miami; Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Detroit and Houston.

Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today kicked-off the first in a series of regional health care fraud prevention summits in Miami.

"This summit is an important opportunity – the chance to build on what was discussed, and achieved, during the first “National Summit on Health Care Fraud” that Secretary Sebelius and I convened in Washington in January," said Attorney General Holder.

The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights today issued new technical assistance guidance for medical providers which will help people with mobility disabilities obtain accessible medical care.

The United States has filed a complaint under the False Claims Act against Dr. Najam Azmat and the Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross, Ga.

A U.S. District Court in Montgomery, Ala., granted judgment in favor of the United States yesterday in a lawsuit brought to enforce the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act against the Alabama Department of Mental Health.

Donald Hertz pleaded guilty today in federal court in Spokane to one count of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act and one count of transmitting a threat in interstate commerce.

Arturo Fonseca, Isis Torres, Francisco Portillo, Eduardo Romero and William Madrigal pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan to various health care fraud charges.

Today Attorney General Eric Holder and U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius kicked off the second in a series of daylong summits bringing together a wide array of federal, state and local partners, beneficiaries, providers and other interested parties to discuss innovative ways to eliminate fraud within the U.S. health care system.

"This summit is an important step forward – an opportunity to build on what has been discussed, and achieved, since Secretary Sebelius and I convened the first “National Summit on Health Care Fraud” in Washington in January," said Attorney General Holder.

"These summits offer our agencies the opportunity to share our success stories, explain our innovative investigative approaches, and listen to and learn from your ideas and concerns," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer