Little Health Law Blog

Genetic Testing and Employee Protections

June 22, 2018 | Little Health Law

dna-1-1444488-300x300 Genetic testing companies, such as 23andMe, have become a craze in the United States within the last 10 to 15 years. 23andMe was formed with the purpose of informing its customers of their genetic health risks, carrier status, and ancestry information. After collecting DNA from saliva, the DNA is sent off to research labs that perform qualitative genotyping–the process of discovering variants in DNA. The genetic tests that 23andMe runs analyze the donor’s DNA, RNA, chromosomes, proteins, and metabolites to determine mutations and changes in chromosome structure. This genotyping allows the labs to discover the customer’s genetic information and background.

Many citizens remain wary of using such resources due to a fear that employers and health insurance companies will use the genetic information for discriminatory purposes. In 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was passed to combat this potential discrimination and protect those employees or insured persons. Continue reading ›

June 7, 2018, Little Health Law obtains dismissal of lawsuit for commercial client

June 7, 2018 | Little Health Law

As trial counsel in Soo Hyun Engineering USA, LLC v. KG USA, Inc., Case No. 16-CV-0644, Troup County Superior Court, wherein the plaintiff sought in commercial litigation a recovery of approximately $1 million, our firm recently obtained dismissal of the lawsuit following our filing of a motion for summary judgment. Kevin Little, a partner in Little Health Law, represented the defendant.

Medical Marijuana and Disability Discrimination in Georgia

May 31, 2018 | Little Health Law

House Bill 1, Haleigh’s Hope Act, went into effect on April 16, 2015. HB 1 makes it lawful to possess up to 20 fluid ounces of low-THC oil, commonly known as “medical marijuana.” On May 8, 2018, Governor Deal signed House Bill 65, which expanded the conditions medical marijuana could be used to treat. As a consequence of HB 65’s expansion, it is likely that more employees will be allowed to possess and use medical marijuana.

Does this mean that you must permit your employees to possess and use medical marijuana while at work, and if you terminate their employment, you are committing disability discrimination?

Not exactly.

April 28, 2018, Kevin Little speaks to audiologists and speech pathologists at the American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology’s Annual Business Conference in Atlanta, regarding building an ancillary healthcare practice with a vision to sell it

April 28, 2018 | Little Health Law

Kevin Little speaks to audiologists and speech pathologists at the American Academy of Private Practice in Speech Pathology and Audiology’s Annual Business Conference in Atlanta, regarding building an ancillary healthcare practice with a vision to sell it.

Sexual Harassment in Georgia: Healthcare & the #MeToo Movement

April 17, 2018 | Little Health Law

Healthcare employees filed the fourth largest number of sexual harassment claims with the EEOC from 2005 to 2015, according to Jocelyn Frye, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. As a result of the #MeToo movement, many healthcare organizations in Georgia are rethinking their sexual harassment policies, and employees are educating themselves on their rights. This post examines Georgia employees’ rights and how Georgia employers can reduce sexual harassment in the workplace.

Georgia Discrimination Laws

Georgia’s employment discrimination laws protecting employees in the private sector are limited to age, wage, and disability discrimination. Although Georgia’s Fair Employment Practices Act covers a wider range of protected classes, it only applies to state agencies with fifteen or more employees.

Fraud and Abuse Update: Prison As a Result of Kickback Scheme

March 30, 2018 | Little Health Law

1066058_patrol_hat_too1 The United States Department of Justice issued a press release on March 28, 2018 regarding the sentencing of Sandra Parkman, age 63, for Medicare fraud. Our business and health care law firm follows developments in the fraud and abuse legal arena. The DOJ, as well as numerous other Federal and state law enforcement agencies, are continuing with their push to crack down on offenses they determine to constitute “fraud and abuse” under applicable statutes and rules.

United States District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of the Eastern District of Louisiana sentenced Ms. Parkman to 32 months in prison. Additionally, she was ordered to pay $277,197 in restitution. Ms. Parkman elected to go to trial in her case. There was a three-day jury trial. At trial, the government presented evidence that Ms. Parkman engaged in a scheme to provide durable medical equipment (DME) that was not medically necessary to federal program beneficiaries in the New Orleans area. The owner of a DME supply company, Tracy Browns, a co-defendant in the case, allegedly paid kickbacks to Ms. Parkman to provide information of eligible Medicare beneficiaries and to obtain physician signatures on order forms for the DME in question. Brown was convicted in a separate trial and sentenced to 80 months in prison.

March 20, 2018, Following a multi-day trial on the merits in the District Court of Denver, Colorado, Kevin Little of our firm, and his co-counsel Shannon Bell, obtained permanent injunctive relief against the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) for our firm’s physician client

March 20, 2018 | Little Health Law

Following a multi-day trial on the merits in the District Court of Denver, Colorado, Kevin Little of our firm, and his co-counsel Shannon Bell, obtained permanent injunctive relief against the Obesity Medicine Association (OMA) for our firm’s physician client, Dr. Krishna Doniparthi.

Fraud and Abuse Update: DOJ Announces $1.7 Million Fraud and Abuse Settlement Reached with Detroit Physician

January 31, 2018 | Little Health Law

gavel-952313-m Our Georgia and South Carolina healthcare law firm has learned that the United States Department of Justice issued a press release announcing a resolution by settlement of fraud and abuse allegations levied against a Detroit physician, Gerald Daneshvar M.D. Due to our focus on healthcare law, our law firm follows legal developments in the healthcare industry.

Dr. Daneshvar was criminally charged and, following a two-week jury trial, convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. His alleged co-conspirators and co-defendants were Stephen Mason, M.D. and Leonard Van Gelder, M.D. Mason and Gelder plead guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. These doctors were alleged to have worked for Lake MI Mobile Doctors, which provided physician home visits to homebound patients who were Medicare beneficiaries. However, according to the Government’s evidence at trial, Dr. Daneshvar billed Medicare for patient visits where the patient was not really sick or homebound and, along with his codefendants, conspired to bill Medicare at the highest rates even though the patient visits were short or unnecessary. For doing so, these physicians received greater compensation from Mobile Doctors.

DOXIMITY STUDY SHOWS UPTICK IN PHYSICIAN DEMAND AND COMP IN 2017

December 29, 2017 | Little Health Law

medical-doctor-1314903-m1 Earlier this month, Doximity released a new study that provides a national review of physician compensation information and job trends, as the strong trend of physician employment by hospital systems continues. Doximity, formed in 2011, is “the largest community of healthcare professionals in the country,” according to its website. More than 70% of physicians in the United States are verified Doximity members. Doximity is a network of physicians and other healthcare practitioners. Doximity’s membership also includes many nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists. More about Doximity can be learned from its website, www.doximity.com.

The study analyzes thousands of job advertisements posted in 20 of the nation’s largest cities and involving 15 common medical specialties. Compensation growth was calculated using self-reporting from compensation surveys of tens of thousands of full time U.S. physicians. Physician compensation grew 5.1 percent in 2017, according to the study.

The Exit: Terminating Physician Employment Agreements

November 28, 2017 | Little Health Law

to-sign-a-contract-2-1221951-m All good things must end. Every employment relationship will end sooner or later, one way or the other. While it is obviously important that parties to an agreement convey on the front end of the relationship positive feelings, the exit strategy should never be disregarded in one’s planning or evaluation of contractual terms. Life happens. Things can change one’s desire or ability to be in a deal, a contract, or an employment relationship. Therefore, while perhaps it may feel counterintuitive to dwell on how to end a relationship just as you are forming it, the termination provisions are very important and, sometimes, critical.

Georgia Medical Practice Lawyers

Most physician employment agreements will articulate a specific term, typically one to five years. Often a physician employment agreement will contain an auto-renewal provision so that, following expiration of the initial term, the relationship is continued from year to year automatically absent timely advance notice of non-renewal by employer or employee. From the medical practice’s standpoint, the right objective is usually to incent longevity and continuity of the relationship with the physician, while preserving a way out of the relationship if needed. Physicians, on the other hand, usually desire stability and sometimes a feeling that employment is “guaranteed” absent real cause to terminate the relationship. In the typical written physician employment agreement, how the agreement will end is determined by term and termination provisions.