Duo sentenced for fraud and ordered to pay fines for fraud

• A medical sales representative and a pain clinic owner in Alabama were recently sentenced for their roles in healthcare fraud conspiracies that cost insurers millions of dollars.
• James Ewing Rayds was sentenced to 40 months for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Ray was ordered to forfeit more than $850,000 and to pay restitution to victims of more than $5.3 million.
• Ray conspired to pay and receive kickbacks to induce medical providers to issue medically unnecessary prescriptions and order medically unnecessary goods and services, which were then billed to Medicare and other health insurers.
• David Lyle Shehi was sentenced to 28 months for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. Shehi was also ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution to his victims after his pain clinic was paid kickbacks in exchange for his practice’s ordering nerve conduction tests.
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NCCI examines the influence of wages on temp disability duration

• The NCCI released a new research brief that examines the question of whether or how wages may influence temporary disability duration in workers’ compensation claims.
• Typically, older workers earn more than younger ones on average. Also, an older injured worker may take longer to heal. The question of whether or how wages impact duration is thus an interesting one.
• The average duration for high-wage earners is the longest and that of low-wage earners is the shortest.
• The difference in duration among age groups is smallest for high-wage earners.
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Ohio launches workers’ comp podcast

• The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is staying on the cutting edge with a new podcast.
• The podcast, titled BWC In the Know, will communicate and connect with customers and key stakeholders in a timely and current format.
• The podcast features an in-depth exploration of important topics, the unpacking of complicated information, and the ability to highlight pertinent safety information relevant to all Ohioans.
• The first episode connects the listener with BWC Administrator/CEO John Logue, as he talks about important changes and updates that are currently underway at BWC.
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Healthcare workers urge Congress for better protections

• Leaders from several healthcare groups, including the Emergency Nurses Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the American Nurses Association, met with congressional staffers to draw more attention on workplace violence.
• The Emergency Nurses Association surveyed its members this year and found more than half (56%) said they had been physically assaulted, verbally harassed or threatened with violence within the past 30 days.
• Healthcare advocates have been pressing Congress to approve legislation that would impose tougher penalties for those who assault healthcare workers, similar to protections for airline employees. P
• The groups are also pushing for a separate bill that would empower OSHA to require the healthcare and social service sectors to implement workplace violence prevention plans.
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