Author Archives: Site Administrator
Unanimous Member Consent Required to Amend an Operating Agreement
Since January 1, 2015, the Florida Revised LLC Act (“Revised Act”), Chapter 605, Florida Statutes, governs all limited liability companies organized under the laws of Florida. § 605.1108(2), Fla. Stat. In a “manager-managed” LLC, “a matter relating to the activities and affairs of the company is decided exclusively by . . . the managers,… Read More »
What is the Stark Law, and Why Does it Matter?
The Stark Law is a provision of the Social Security Act that prohibits physicians from making certain kinds of referrals for health services. Specifically, it bars a physician from referring a patient to another Medicare or Medicaid provider for “designated health services,” if the physician or a family member has a financial relationship with… Read More »
What Rights Do Members in an LLC Have That an Operating Agreement Cannot Eliminate or Alter?
Under the Florida Revised LLC Act (“Revised Act”), members in an LLC have certain key rights that an operating agreement cannot eliminate or alter. In contrast, members maintain certain rights that an LLC operating agreement can eliminate or alter unless it would be “manifestly unreasonable” to do so. Here is a summary of these… Read More »
What is Online Defamation and What Are Its Most Common Forms?
The two types of online defamation are libel and slander. Libel is defamation in writing and slander is oral defamation. Both libel and slander may occur online. Libel typically occurs through defamatory online postings, articles, comments, or reviews. Slander may occur through the uploading of defamatory videos and audio files. Because the internet now… Read More »
Hospice Fraud Targets the Weak
Just like other types of Medicare fraud, hospice fraud is growing. Hospice is a program that provides care and support for terminally ill patients and their caregivers. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in 2013, 1.3 million Medicare beneficiaries received hospice care. Because Medicare pays generous hospice benefits for… Read More »
Don’t Be a Victim: Watch for These Medicare Scams
Targeting unsuspecting Medicare beneficiaries has become big business for scammers. Once a scammer gets a hold of a Medicare number, they will bill Medicare for services and equipment that was never provided, or bill for supplies sent to the beneficiary that were neither needed nor wanted. Don’t let yourself fall prey to one of… Read More »
Education Fraud is a Growing Problem
While we often spend a lot of time on this blog talking about healthcare fraud, given that Florida is ground zero for Medicare fraudsters, everyone should be aware of another growing area, education fraud. Education has become big business, and where there’s money to be made, the fraudsters are surely close behind. One area… Read More »
When Dentists Commit Medicaid Fraud, It’s Not All Smiles
The national Medicaid program is a social healthcare program for families and individuals with low income and limited resources. It is jointly funded by the federal government and the states and is the largest source of funding for health services for low-income Americans. Under the Medicaid program, states are required to provide dental benefits… Read More »
The Ethical Treatment of Animals and Qui Tam Whistleblowers
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends more than $1.5 billion annually to fund the National School Lunch Program. The USDA enters into contracts with thousands of vendors to purchase food products ranging from vegetables to fresh meats. The USDA then distributes this food to recipient state agencies, that is, individual states that… Read More »
Whistleblower Beware: You May Need to Act Quickly
You work for a company that is committing a major fraud against the Government. Maybe it’s Medicare fraud, government contracting fraud, or education fraud. Most of the people in your workplace know the fraud is happening, but nobody is doing anything about it because the company is making so much money. You know it’s… Read More »