GOVERNMENT BENEFITS CASES

• Schmidt v. Astrue
• Horras v. Leavitt
• US ex rel. Boothe v. Sun Healthcare Group, Inc.
• Pelea v. Nicholson
• Newhouse v. Nicholson

U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 08, 2007
Schmidt v. Astrue, No. 06-3930
Order upholding the denial of applications for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income by the Social Security Administration is affirmed over the applicant's arguments that the administrative law judge erred by: 1) not giving controlling weight to her treating physicians' opinions; 2) finding that her testimony lacked credibility; and 3) failing to take into account additional limitations when questioning the vocational expert. Read more...

U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 07, 2007
Horras v. Leavitt, No. 06-2115, 06-2124
Civil monetary penalties, assessments, and exclusions from all federal health care programs, imposed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) on the operators of a "home health agency" is affirmed as the evidence supported the sanctions based on findings that petitioners submitted false or fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims. Read more...

U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, August 07, 2007
US ex rel. Boothe v. Sun Healthcare Group, Inc., No. 06-2156
In a qui tam action under the False Claims Act (FCA) alleging that defendant overbilled the government for Medicare in ten distinct ways, a district court judgment finding that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction under the FCA to hear the case is reversed in part and remanded as: 1) jurisdiction under the public disclosure bar must be assessed on a claim-by-claim basis, and a deficiency in one claim does not preclude jurisdiction over all claims joined in the same lawsuit; and 2) an independent jurisdictional analysis of each of plaintiff's remaining seven claims of fraud was necessary. Read more...

U.S. Fed. Circuit Court of Appeals, August 07, 2007
Pelea v. Nicholson, No. 2006-7364
The estate of a veteran's widow may not continue to pursue her unadjudicated claim for benefits based on the veteran's military service. Read more...

U.S. Fed. Circuit Court of Appeals, August 10, 2007
Newhouse v. Nicholson, No. 2006-7302
A veterans court decision denying claimant an increased disability rating for his hearing loss is affirmed as the Veterans Court did not err by determining that the VA's failure to provide proper Veterans Claims Assistance Act (VCAA) notice was harmless, and claimant failed to establish that the Board failed to consider any evidence in the record. Read more...