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Category Archives: Miscellaneous

How Doctors and Hospitals Can Combat Medicare and Medicaid Fraud 

Author By Sean GarzaPosted on

Counterintuitive as it seems, it is possible to commit fraud without actual intent. If you and your staff lack careful billing and oversight processes, you could come under investigation for Medicare/Medicaid fraud.

If you bill for 30 patients on a given day but you actually only saw 20, the 10 phantom patient billings are patently fraudulent. But even a simple mistake or oversight, such as a billing clerk including a procedure code for a patient who didn’t receive that service, can be suspect. This could happen if your staff is accustomed to billing certain codes together and they assume you provided the same services to a particular patient when, in fact, you didn’t.

Another common issue is lapsed licenses. If you have a medical provider in your office — such as a doctor, nurse or technician — they should not be working during any lapse in their license, even as short as a day. Insurance companies routinely check license information during claims processing, and such a finding would tarnish billing to all your patients for that day, including those on Medicare and Medicaid. Regulators consider billed services by an unlicensed provider as services that never happened.

Similarly, if you operate a practice but are not present or readily available while certain patients are being treated, billing for those services could be deemed fraudulent because they lacked supervision.

Prescription billing is another area fraught with risk. If you billed for a prescription that the patient never received, it could be deemed fraudulent. To avoid inadvertent billing, have a system in place to flag billed prescriptions that were never picked up.

Physicians sometimes find themselves on the wrong side of the law due to financial arrangements that could be considered kickbacks or self-referrals, such as having a financial interest in another practice to which patients are referred. Even giving small gifts to patients could get you in trouble if the gifts are deemed a reward for continuing to use your services.

With the high risk of fraud investigations arising from inadvertent mistakes, it makes sense to work with a skilled lawyer to devise a compliance plan. If you have concerns about an aspect of managing your practice, contact a knowledgeable healthcare attorney at Hemmer DeFrank Wessels, PLLC.

 

Records Management Steps for Doctors Closing Their Practice

Author By Sean GarzaPosted on


Written By: Janie Ratliff-Sweeney

The time has come to close a chapter and move on from your medical practice. But closing down a physician’s office doesn’t just involve business concerns like notifying personnel or selling equipment. Doctors must also worry about the fate of their patient records.

If you are a Kentucky doctor closing your practice, be sure to notify patients and offer to send copies of their records to another physician of their own choosing. The Kentucky Medical Association recommends notifying patients 60 to 90 days before you close your practice.

For patients who do not opt to have their records sent to a successor physician, records should be retained for storage with a custodian, who may be another physician or a commercial service. An experienced attorney can draft a custodial agreement, which should include such details as:

  • the length of time records should be retained
  • a requirement that you and your patients may continue to access records
  • a requirement to notify the closing practice if the custodian’s contact information changes
  • any fees associated with record maintenance
  • compliance with state and federal regulations pertaining to patients’ records

How long records should be retained depends on several factors. According to American Medical Association ethics guidelines, physicians have an obligation to retain patient records “which may reasonably be of value to a patient.”

For practical reasons, records should be kept for at least as long as the limitations period for medical malpractice claims. Kentucky’s statute of repose says that a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed within five years of the date a negligent act or omission is said to have occurred.

Doctors participating in Medicare and in Kentucky’s Medicaid program must retain records for five years from the date of a patient’s discharge.

For patients who don‘t respond to the notification that your practice is closing, a second notice should be sent toward the end of the 90 days, informing them of the storage location of their records or, in the case of records older than five years, that the records will be destroyed.

Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is critical as well. HIPAA’s patient privacy protections apply to storage — and destruction — of records. For older records that need to be destroyed, consider contracting a records destruction service to properly destroy paper or other media (such as CDs and flash drives) to ensure patient data remains protected.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

Fidelis Center

Author By Sean GarzaPosted on

Dear Friend of Nicholas Sandmann:

I wanted to let you know that the Fidelis Center for Law and Policy has agreed to raise money to help Nicholas and his family cover the costs associated with bringing lawsuits against the mainstream media outlets such as the Washington Post, CNN, and NBC Universal.  These costs include hiring experts, paying the costs to discover written and electronic records, the cost to take depositions, and travel costs.  The money raised in this campaign, net of expenses, will go directly to pay only costs.  My co-counsel, Lin Wood, and I are not paid by these funds. So, the money you contributed goes directly to reducing the Sandmann family’s costs.

Thank you for your support of Nicholas Sandmann and his family.

Sincerely,

Todd McMurtry

Legal Counsel for Nicholas Sandmann

 

Steps To Help Shield Your Company from Online Doxing

Author By Sean GarzaPosted on

An aggravated consumer, industry rival, former employee or another person who is upset with your company may try to exact revenge by use of “doxing” — the practice of gathering a person or entity’s personal information and publishing it online. This may include sensitive information about the finances, health, residence, political affiliation, family and private lives of executives and employees at targeted organizations. Whether performed by an experienced hacker or an amateur sleuth, doxing can take a serious toll on a company, leaving it and its employees vulnerable to embarrassment and possible financial injury.

Doxing is distinguishable from defamation, which is the publication of false information about a person or entity. The danger from doxing is that the information released is true but sensitive. Unfortunately, there is a wealth of data that can be legally obtained online by clever searchers.

Fortunately, there are ways to help prevent hackers from finding the information they want. Cyber security professionals recommend the following actions:

  • Provide digital security training for employees — Create standard protocols for Internet activity and teach information-protection practices to employees. This helps prevent the release of information that should remain private.
  • Limit what is shared on social media — People with bad intentions can latch onto one detail your employee posts online and use it to uncover much more about the person’s life. Changing social media privacy settings can limit access to identifying data points — like addresses, employers, schools and email addresses — making it harder to track you on other platforms.
  • Use encryption tools — A hacker who accesses someone’s computer system may obtain important data and metadata from documents like Word, Excel and Powerpoint files. Documents and communications should be encrypted to keep their contents virtually inaccessible to anyone except the intended recipient.
  • Use strong passwords and vary them — Passwords are the keys to your data online, yet many users favor simple passwords that are easy to remember and, worse, include identifying information. Security experts recommend long passwords with a mix of numbers, symbols and upper- and lower-case letters. Also, use different ones for different accounts.
  • Update computer security — Internet firewall and antivirus software should be frequently updated. New versions are issued frequently to keep ahead of hackers that learn to exploit security weaknesses and mine hard drives for data.

Doxing may warrant civil legal action or criminal charges, depending on the type of information released, the means used to acquire the information, the intent of the publisher and the reputation damage or other harm inflicted.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

Kyle M. Winslow named partner at Hemmer DeFrank Wessels

Author By Sean GarzaPosted on

Hemmer DeFrank Wessels PLLC is pleased to announce Kyle M. Winslow has been elected to partnership effective January 1, 2020.

A member of the firm’s litigation practice group, Kyle concentrates his practice on representing individuals and businesses in complex business disputes, business divorce, and plaintiffs’ defamation matters.

Outside of the firm, Kyle was appointed in 2018 by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.  He recently completed a three-year term as a board member of the Northern Kentucky Bar Association.  Kyle is licensed in state and federal courts in Kentucky, and Ohio, and Indiana, and received his J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

Practices for Guarding Against HIPAA Breaches in Your Company

Author By Crystal M. LykinsPosted on

If your company is classified as a “covered entity” (most healthcare providers are covered entities) or a “business associated” of a covered entity, you are surely aware of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA requires protection and confidential handling of individuals’ protected health information (or “PHI”). Healthcare organizations and businesses that provided services to healthcare organizations that create, use, or disclose PHI are required to safeguard it and to follow the various HIPAA rules – such as the privacy rule, the security rule, and the breach notification Rules.

A HIPAA violation could leave an individual’s sensitive, personal health information (PHI) exposed to others without causing the individual harm.  It could also result in an investigation by the government.  As part of its investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights could impose hefty fines and other civil penalties.  Following a serious and intentional HIPAA violation, the Department of Justice may pursue criminal charges against the violator.

Given the serious consequences of a HIPAA violation, companies that handle health information and companies who provide services to those companies, should make sure that their handling of PHI is in compliance with the various HIPAA rules.

  • Install security — Computer files should be protected through passwords, encryption and other cybersecurity methods. Physical files containing PHI should be kept under lock and key, accessible only by designated, HIPAA-trained personnel.
  • Keep computer credentials individualized and confidential — A HIPAA violation may result from an unauthorized employee using another employee’s credentials to access PHI. Employees should have their own computer login information and accounts that provide access to the type of information pertinent to their job.
  • Communicate responsibly — An employee may violate HIPAA by discussing a person’s medical details in public or via text, email or phone. Communications should be sent through secure, approved channels.
  • Close or dispose of documents the right way — Tossing or leaving out a piece of paper that includes a person’s PHI or leaving a file up on a computer screen for everyone to see, can be considered HIPAA violations. Establish a method for disposing of confidential documents to make them unreadable, indecipherable and unable to be reconstructed, in accordance with HIPAA rules.

A HIPAA violation can be harmful to the violated individual as well as to the person or organization responsible for the violation. Our healthcare law attorneys work with covered entities to handle and help prevent violations of HIPAA. 

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

The Right of Shareholders to Inspect Corporate Records

Author By Todd McMurtryPosted on

Shareholders have common law and statutory rights to inspect and copy the records and books of corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs). These rights exist so that shareholders are able to ascertain whether corporate management is being properly conducted and so that they have accurate information when voting on corporate issues.

These rights don’t often need to be exercised in public corporations, which are required by law to disclose their financial information regularly. But for privately held corporations, the right of inspection is a vital way for shareholders to keep tabs on management and finances.

Under Kentucky law, a shareholder may inspect and copy any of the following documents by providing the corporation with five business days’ written notice:

  • Articles of incorporation and all amendments to them
  • The company’s bylaws and all amendments to them
  • Resolutions adopted by the board of directors creating a class or series of shares
  • Minutes of all shareholders’ meetings for the last three years
  • Records of all action taken by shareholders without a meeting for the last three years
  • All written communications to shareholders within the last three years, including financial statements
  • A list of all the names and business addresses of the company’s current officers and directors
  • The company’s most recent annual report

Shareholders also have the right, upon five days’ notice, to inspect and copy accounting records and shareholder records, but only if all of these conditions are met:

  • The shareholder’s demand is made in good faith and for a proper purpose.
  • The shareholder describes the purpose and the records sought with reasonable particularity.
  • The records requested are directly connected to the stated purpose.

If a corporation refuses to allow a requested inspection, the shareholder can file a lawsuit in the court of the county where the corporation’s principle office is located. If the court rules in favor of the shareholder, the corporation may be required to pay the shareholder’s costs and attorney’s fees.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

Determining Company Value During a Business Divorce

Author By Todd McMurtryPosted on

Dividing property is one of the most important and potentially contentious aspects of business partners falling out and going their separate ways. A business divorce requires that the company be fairly valued so that all or part of it can be sold, whether to insiders or to outside buyers.

A business valuation analyzes all areas of the company to determine the worth of its various departments and of the entity as a whole. Professional evaluators look at such as elements as the company’s capital structure, its management, the market value of its assets and its future earnings potential.

There are numerous ways to value a company during business divorces. Some of the most common methods are:

  • Market capitalization — The value of a public company typically is calculated by multiplying the company’s share price by the number of shares outstanding. If the price is $50 and there are one million shares outstanding, the company’s value is $50 million.
  • Times revenue — A multiplier is applied to the revenue the company has generated over a certain time period. The multiplier varies by industry. A tech company might be valued at 5x revenue while a service company might be valued at 1x revenue.
  • Earnings multiplier —The company’s price-to-earnings ratio is adjusted to account for current interest rates. This is often more accurate than the times revenue method because the earnings multiplier is based on profits.
  • Discounted cash flow — This is similar to the earnings multiplier method, except that the company’s cash flow is calculated taking inflation and other market risks into account.
  • Book value — This is the company’s total assets minus its total liabilities as shown on its balance sheet.
  • Discretionary earnings — This method, often used for valuing small businesses, takes gross earnings and adjusts them for depreciation, interest expense and non-operating and non-recurring income.

When business owners are engaged in a split up, it is to be expected that the choice of valuation method will be a point of contention. Different owners will likely choose their own evaluators, with each employing a different method. If the owners can’t agree on a selling price, some form of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, may be used to arrive at a settlement.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

Corporate Transparency Act Compliance When Buying a Business

Author By Todd McMurtryPosted on

Purchasing a business triggers the duty to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a federal law mandating the disclosure of beneficial owners of certain U.S. entities to prevent illicit activities such as money laundering and fraud. Understanding the intricacies of the CTA and ensuring adherence is vital, not only to facilitate a smooth transaction but also to avoid significant legal repercussions.

The CTA requires entities such as corporations and limited liability companies to report detailed information about their beneficial owners, namely, those who own 25 percent or more of the entity or have significant control over it. Beneficial ownership information (“BOI”) must be filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). It includes the owners’ full legal names, birthdates, addresses and unique identifying numbers. BOI must be updated within 30 days of any change in ownership.

Non-compliance with the CTA can lead to severe penalties. If a business fails to provide accurate or updated information about its beneficial owners, it can face fines of up to $500 per day until the violation is corrected, reaching potentially substantial sums. Moreover, willful failure to report the required information or deliberately providing false or fraudulent information can result in criminal penalties. These include fines of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two years. 

Importantly, these penalties can apply to violations that occurred before the acquisition. To mitigate those risks, prospective buyers should take several precautionary steps:

  • Due diligence — Conduct a review of the target company’s compliance history with the CTA. This includes verifying that all necessary filings are up to date and accurate. Engage with legal professionals who can scrutinize the documentation and history of compliance is advisable.
  • Integration plan — Develop a plan to integrate CTA compliance into the ongoing operations of the business post-acquisition. This should include procedures for regularly updating beneficial ownership information and monitoring compliance.
  • Training and awareness — Implement training programs for key personnel in the acquired company to ensure they understand the importance of CTA compliance and the procedures for maintaining it.
  • Establish compliance protocols — Set up internal controls and compliance protocols to regularly review and verify beneficial ownership information. This proactive approach can help in identifying and rectifying any potential discrepancies before they result in violations.

Consulting with a business law firm can provide you with assurance that all aspects of CTA compliance are addressed and can help you protect yourself from liabilities associated with any pre-existing violations.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

 

Even After a Business Divorce, You Could Be Liable for a Partner’s Fraud

Author By Todd McMurtryPosted on

A business divorce can be a long, painful process. Breaking off from fellow shareholders or partners could have significant legal, financial and emotional consequences. There might be moments where you consider walking away without finalizing an agreement to protect your interests. However, the failure to tie up loose ends with the assistance of an experienced attorney could come back to haunt you even after everyone has gone their separate ways.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Bartenwerfer v. Buckley was faced with a case involving a husband-and-wife partnership. David and Kate Bartenwerfer formed a legal entity to purchase, renovate and sell a house in San Francisco. From the outset, David handled the project, including the hiring of contractors, while Kate remained on the sidelines. Eventually, the Bartenwerfer partnership sold the home to Kieran Buckley.

Once Buckley purchased the residence, he found numerous significant defects that had not been disclosed to him. Subsequently, he won a verdict exceeding $200,000 in a lawsuit against the Bartenwerfers. This result, along with other debts, led the couple to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Buckley sued, alleging that the debt to him should not be discharged, Section 523(a)(2)(A) of the Bankruptcy Code bars the discharge of “any debt… for money… to the extent obtained by… false pretenses, a false representation, or actual fraud.”

Kate Bartenwerfer argued that because she lacked knowledge of her partner’s misrepresentations, she should be not responsible for the debt to Buckley. However, in a unanimous decision authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court held that a debtor cannot discharge a debt arising from a partner’s fraud—even if the debtor personally lacked knowledge or culpability.

Given this precedent, partners in the midst of a business divorce need to be aware of the possibility that they could face liability for acts that that they did not know about. You and your attorney might want to investigate your partner’s conduct and allocate responsibility in case a subsequent claim does arise.

About Finney Law Firm, LLC

Founded in 2014, FLF has grown to 15 attorneys located in offices in Eastgate and downtown Cincinnati with five major practice areas: Corporate Law, Real Estate Law, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation and Public Interest and Constitutional Litigation.  FLF has the unique claim to three 9-0 victories at the United States Supreme Court for its public interest practice along with breakthrough class action work.

FLF also has an affiliated title insurance company, Ivy Pointe Title, LLC, that closes and insures nearly a thousand commercial and residential real estate transactions annually.

For more information about Finney Law Firm, visit finneylawfirm.com.

Media Contact: Mickey McClanahan; mickey@finneylawfirm.isoc.net; 513.797.2850.

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