News and Notes

1. Lots of people (91 in total and 45 in Miami!) charged with Medicare Fraud today.

2. Psychics get bond. But they knew that already.

3. Check out this footnote at the end of the opinion in United States v. Smith, which held that an appellate waiver was enforceable: After this opinion was written, the government filed a motion to withdraw its previously filed brief, which had argued that the appeal waiver applies, to vacate the sentence, and to remand for resentencing under the decision in United States v. Rojas, 645 F.3d 1234 (11th Cir. 2011). The motion admits that the sentencing appeal waiver does apply but states that the government has now “determined that it is appropriate under the circumstances to forego reliance upon the appeal waiver provision in this case.” OK, now what?

UPDATE -- I missed the continuation of the footnote on the next page:

The primary circumstance cited in the government’s motion is that Attorney General Eric Holder has changed the Department of Justice’s policy on whether the Fair Sentencing Act applies to cases in which the defendant was sentenced after enactment of that legislation. There has not, however, been any change in the law concerning sentence appeal waivers, and it is on the basis of the waiver that we are deciding this case. Sentence appeal waivers serve interests of the judiciary as well as interests of the government and defendants. See United States v. Bascomb, 451 F.3d 1292, 1296–97 (11th Cir. 2006) (interests of the government and defendants); cf. Blackledge v. Allison, 431 U.S. 63, 71, 97 S.Ct. 1621, 1627 (1977) (recognizing
that plea bargains benefit all concerned, including the judiciary). And once an appeal arrives in this Court it is our responsibility to see that it is decided correctly under the law. For these reasons, the government’s motion is denied.

Wow.

Health Care on Trial

Coming up Thursday. . . Is Florida’s government failing children on Medicaid? Judge Adalberto Jordan is hearing arguments tomorrow on whether a longstanding class action seeking better treatment for Medicaid children can proceed to trial. In June, Magistrate Judge Chris McAliley certified the class over the state’s objections. From the Report and Recommendation:

The Individual Plaintiffs, who live in diverse geographic areas within the state, offer a broad spectrum of experiences that collectively illustrate the alleged failures of Florida’s Medicaid system. . . .In the opinion of this Court, the prosecution of this case will benefit from the range of personal experiences.

Lawyers from Boies Schiller & Flexner will argue, pro bono, on behalf of the class. The Florida AG’s office and law firm Kenny Nachwalter represent the Florida agencies.

While we’re on the hot-button subject of government-run health care, Jay Weaver has this story about Medicare's proposed cap on payments to home health care agencies in Miami-Dade, which seem to be filing hundreds of millions of dollars in bogus bills for diabetic services.

Still want a public health care option?

Headline fraud

The Herald has this headline today:

Miami doctor, nurse guilty of Medicare fraud


and this tag line under it:

The brothers who owned the clinic involved in an $11 million Medicare scam fled to Cuba. A doctor and nurse who worked in the clinic were convicted of fraud.

Yes, that's all true, but two of the four defendants at trial were acquitted. Shouldn't the headline be a bit more even-handed? Here's Frank Quintero, the defense lawyer for one of the acquitted defendants:

But while the physician and nurse were found guilty by the federal jury, Beatriz Delgado, a receptionist, and Angel Rodriguez, a medical assistant, were acquitted.
''There's no question that Medicare fraud is a huge problem in South Florida, but you cannot claim that everybody who is working in a clinic is part of that fraud,'' said attorney Frank Quintero, who represented Angel Rodriguez. ``We had a very smart jury in this trial and they saw through the lack of evidence as far as my client is concerned.''

Here's the rest of the article.