AccuCare Home Health Services Pays $20,000 Fine for Employing Excluded Individual

Posted by Steve Alder

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) has agreed to a $20,000 settlement with AccuCare Home Health Services to resolve allegations that the home healthcare provider employed an individual on the HHS-OIG exclusions list and billed services provided by that individual to federally funded healthcare programs.

AccuCare Home Health Services is a Mesa, Arizona-based provider of home health care services, specializing in skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and medical social services. According to HHS-OIG, AccuCare Home Health Services was discovered to have employed a home healthcare aide who was not permitted to participate in any federally funded healthcare program, and billed products or services provided by that individual to federal health care programs. The alleged violation was settled with a $20,000 financial penalty.

Healthcare organizations must ensure that a check is conducted of the HHS-OIG List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) prior to onboarding a new employee. Regular checks must also be conducted on all employees, since individuals may be added to the LEIE after their employment commences. The HHS’ Office for Civil Rights imposes relatively few financial penalties for HIPAA violations; however, when it comes to HHS OIG compliance, there is a much greater risk of a financial penalty if violations are identified. HHS-OIG regularly imposes significant financial penalties for claiming for items and services provided by excluded individuals and companies, submitting false claims, and violations of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute. In addition to a financial penalty, there is a risk of being added to the HHS exclusion list, which will prohibit an individual or company from participating in federally funded health care programs.

On November 12, 2025, HHS-OIG announced that William Mangan, DO (Dr. Mangan) of Okemos, Michigan, had agreed to be excluded from participating in federally funded healthcare programs for a period of 10 years in connection with False Claims Act violations. Dr. Mangan was investigated by HHS-OIG in connection with allegations that he ordered genetic tests, durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) that were not reasonable or medically necessary and submitted claims to federally funded health care programs. Dr. Mangan claimed that he had evaluated patients and falsely certified that the ordered products were medically necessary when he failed to perform an adequate review.

Individuals can face severe penalties for knowingly causing products or services to be billed to federally funded healthcare programs when they are on the HHS-OIG exclusion list. Erik X. Alonso, 55, of Miami, Florida, had been convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud in 2015 for offenses in the Southern District of Florida. As a result of the conviction, Alonso was placed on the exclusion list and was fully aware that he was prohibited from participating in work that was billed to federally funded healthcare programs. In March 2022, Alonso started working for a telehealth mental health provider in New Hampshire and provided services to patients in the state that he knew would be billed to Medicaid. Alonso caused New Hampshire Medicaid to pay approximately $173,998.83 based on false and fraudulent claims. The healthcare fraud was discovered, and Alonso entered a guilty plea to one count of healthcare fraud and is awaiting sentencing. He now faces up to 10 years in jail.

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Bill Introduced to Repeal Proposed OSHA Heat Standard for Indoor and Outdoor Workplaces

Posted by Steve Alder

Rep. Mark Messmer (R-IN) has introduced a bill that seeks to repeal safety and health legislation introduced by the Biden administration to protect Americans against heat injury and illness in both indoor and outdoor work settings. Rep. Messmer introduced the Health Workforce Standards Act of 2025 on November 20, 2025, to repeal the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s  (OSHA) Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings proposed rule. The bill is co-sponsored by 23 Republican representatives in 16 U.S. states and is supported by more than two dozen industry organizations.

OSHA’s proposed standard applies to most employers in the general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture sectors where OSHA has jurisdiction, and requires them to implement a plan to evaluate and control heat hazards in the workplace and protect their workers from hazardous heat. Rep. Messmer claims that OSHA’s proposed rule would impose impracticable and unnecessary requirements on residential construction employers, noncompliance with which would attract excessive financial penalties.

Rep. Messmer said the sweeping and unworkable heat standards were fast-tracked by the Biden administration, and these heavy-handed regulations are likely to crush innovation, increase costs, and undermine productivity. The proposed rule would require almost all American businesses and institutions to follow rigid, one-size-fits-all, federal workplace standards based on predetermined temperature thresholds, regardless of industry, climate, or existing safety protocols.

“The Biden Heat Rule was never about safety, but was rather, unsurprisingly, focused upon expanding federal bureaucratic control over hard-working Americans,” said Rep. Messmer in a press release announcing the bill. “My Heat Workforce Standards Act empowers employers to maintain safe and realistic workplace standard parameters which allow for both their workers and the business to thrive.”

Rep. Messmer maintains that if OHSA’s proposed rule is implemented, there would be redundant and egregious regulation requirements in all 50 states, with little variance considered for industry-specific outdoor and indoor heat variables and differences in climate. Employers who already had heat injury prevention measures in place would not be recognized, and it would remove state governments’ ability to create targeted heat rules specific to their climate and local industries.

“Needless to say, California, Florida, and Michigan are miles apart when it comes to heat, and heat hazards in construction are very different from the hazards in manufacturing or agriculture. That is why any standard intended to prevent and reduce heat-related injuries must be flexible and keep workers safe in ways that best address their unique environments and challenges,” Tim Walberg, House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman, said. “The Biden-Harris proposed heat rule does not have that much-needed flexibility, which is why this bill is a necessary step in protecting workers and preventing federal overreach so we can help workers earn a living and get home safe.”

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