By LadMDelatorre December 09, 2014
Had excellent service with Mr. Johnson. With My Dad's estate and sale of house. We lived in Nevada and would have been so hard dealing with this from so far away. My sister was having health problems and though she lived in town could not handle this at that time. He was very accomadaitng toor situation. Highly recommend his service to those interested. Thank You Again Mr Johnson. Arthur Delatorre ...read more
By reddy November 22, 2013
Ashok Yalamati and his company got prime vendor ship with McKesson (fortune 14th listed) 2 years ago and doing great, he do business only with direct clients, so I don’t think any company can take risk by submitting fake resumes, VINCE Solutions never give IT training, so no chance of Fake resumes right? Looking like IT training companies are jealous about Ashok Yalamati’s success and posting bad reviews. All IT training companies submit fake resumes but not VINCE Solutions. Guys get well soon, you have posted bad reviews like his company will close in 2006 right? Day by day his company is doing great with new H1B visas and new direct clients. ...read more
By kiranganta November 22, 2013
Ashok Yalamati's VINCE Solutions got prime vendor ship with McKesson (fortune 14th listed) and also he do business with only Direct clients. when his company is not a IT training company then there is not chance of fake resumes. This year VINCE Solutions got H1B visas. ...read more
In this article, I give you a quick overview of the major regulatory compliance areas for physicians and medical practices, namely: Referral Laws -- Anti-Kickback and Stark Self-Referrals Billing Medicare and Other Payers HIPAA Supervision of StaffThe regulatory schemes covering medical practices are unbelievably complex, so this article only gives a bird’s eye view. For an outline of legal issues related to a medical corporation, read “Legal Compliance Checklist for a Medical Corporation” on my website. You should also read the related set of articles that you’ll find linked in that article. Without further adieu, The Referral Laws: Anti-Kickback and Stark Self-Referral Both the US and California have their own versions of the anti-kickback and Stark self-referral laws. To sum them up: Don’t make or take referrals for money. Under the anti-kickback laws, a physician may not knowingly offer or pay, or even receive, anything of value for a referral of medical work. Under the Stark self-referral laws, a physician may not refer a patient to a provider with which the physician (or a family member) has a financial relationship. Violation of these laws is punishable by fines, exclusion from participation in Medicare and Medi-Cal (see next), loss of license to practice, and even imprisonment.Billing Fraud and Exclusion from Medicare and Medi-Cal You must be very careful when billing for services, because you do not want to inadvertently commit health care fraud. It is very easy for medical practices to become sloppy in their billings as they try to maximize reimbursement, for example, using a physician’s provider number to cover the work of a non-physician. The federal Office of Inspector General (OIG) can exclude anyone who has engaged in billing abuse from participation in Medicare. Exclusion is very serious because you cannot get reimbursement from Medicare for your medical work. The California Department of Health Services has its own exclusion (suspension) provisions regarding Medi-Cal. The OIG prohibits payment even to an innocent health care provider (e.g. a hospital) who employs an excluded individual. A provider can itself be excluded if it submits claims for payment connected with an excluded person. Hence a medical practice must be sure that all of its employees and contractors are not excluded. Both OIG and California maintain online lists of excluded health care providers. HIPAA The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires “covered entities” to protect electronic health information from unauthorized access, alteration, deletion, and transmission. Covered entities include medical practices.HIPAA is extensive and I’m sure you’ve had about all you can stand of it already. One thing to keep in mind about HIPAA is that, when working with third-party contractors who handle patient data, a health care practice must obtain contractual assurances of their HIPAA compliance. Make sure your contracts with third parties have language to this effect.Supervision of Staff California has a multitude of regulations on your supervision of staff, including medical assistants, nurse practitioners and more. The California Medical Board’s website has many publications that address these regulations. Make sure that you read up on the supervision required for each type of personnel in your office. That’s it for this little outline. It’s a wonder to me that any physician group can stay in compliance with all of these regulations, but ignorance of the law is no excuse. Don’t go it alone. Call me if you want to talk more. ...read more
By Matt Dickstein, Business Attorney November 08, 2011
If you have a California corporation, you’ve seen this scam. By way of background, all corporations must file with the California Secretary of State an “Annual Statement of Information.” The form asks for basic information about the corporation such as the names and addresses of the directors and officers, and the filing fee usually is $25. You can file the form and pay the filing fee online at the CA Secretary of State’s website. If you don’t file and pay the fee on-time, the State will fine your corporation. A few years ago, I began to see a nice little scam based on the Annual Statement of Information. The scammer mails to all CA corporations a form that looks like the Annual Statement of Information and seems to come from the CA Secretary of State. The form mimics the details of a governmental communication, including the threats, for example, if you don’t pay up right now, you will suffer a fine and lose your corporation. The form cites a few CA statutes in support of its threats just like real governmental letters. The only difference is that the scammer demands an initial payment of a lot more money – usually between $175 and $350, whereas California only demands that kind of money in its second letter to you. It’s not easy to tell the difference between a scam letter and a real State-sponsored threat letter. I look for small print on the outside of the envelope that says, “This is not a government document.” Apparently business was good because a host of copycat scammers entered the business. It got so bad that the California Department of Justice filed suit against some of the scammer companies. But the letters keep coming. When faced with such a letter, your best bet is to ignore it altogether, and go directly to the CA Secretary of State’s website and make the filing there. Or call your lawyer; my clients call me about these letters all the time. Here’s a few more of my favorite scams: The Vanity Pitch. This is my personal favorite. The scammer says, “Congratulations! you’ve been selected as Outstanding [Lawyer, Doctor, etc.] 2011” or some such nonsense. For a nominal fee, you’re now entitled to an entry in the online or print version of the “Who’s Who of [Lawyers, Doctors, etc.] 2011.” The Directory Listing. The scammer calls you to update your company’s entry in their online directory. The scammer just wants to verify your current address and phone number. Next, the scammer either tries to upsell you to a paid subscription, or he just bills you directly even if you didn’t agree to the listing. Overpayment Scams. This is an oldie but goodie. A customer overpays for a product with check or credit card then asks that the extra money be wired back to him. Your wire transfer is effective immediately, and a few days later the customer’s check bounces or he cancels the credit card charge. The Phony Webinar. This one is new, and I think they almost got me a few months ago. An online webinar company, in recognition of my alleged expertise in medical practice law, asked that I do a webinar for them. It was audio only, so I gave my presentation over the phone. The phone line was utterly silent, but I kept droning on and on. At the end, the webinar asked if anyone had any questions. Nothing. The webinar company thanked me for my time, and the next day sent me an email offering a copy of the presentation for posting on my website, all for the paltry sum of $295. I didn’t give them the money, but I did give them the time, so I guess I lost that battle. Call me if you’ve seen any other good scams. I’d love to hear how they work. ...read more
By Matt Dickstein, Business Attorney November 08, 2011
Franchise relationships sometimes end badly. Depending on your perspective, a bad ending might be the franchisee quitting the system, or the franchisor terminating or refusing to renew the franchise. By this time, one or both sides have a lot invested in the bad relationship, which leads to posturing and threats and sometimes litigation. For more on this topic, see my prior article,Termination or Non-Renewal of a Franchise. In this article I discuss some common claims for when a franchisee and a franchisor go to war. These claims include the franchisee’s fraud claim against the franchisor, plus the franchisee’s claim that the franchisor encroached on his franchise, for example by putting other franchises on his border. The franchisor’s primary claim is to recover liquidated damages or lost future fees and royalties from the franchisee. Franchisee's Fraud or Contract Claim The franchisee might have a fraud or a contract claim if the franchisor doesn’t deliver the promised benefits of the franchise system. For example, the franchisor might have promised that (1) it had a unique or proprietary system when in fact it didn’t, or (2) its system was proven successful when in fact it was new and unproven, or (3) its system came with training and support that never appeared, or (4) the franchisee would earn a certain level of revenue that never materialized. Franchisee's Encroachment Claim A franchisor encroaches on a franchise if it puts other franchises or sales outlets unreasonably close to a franchisee, or it sells over the internet into a franchisee’s territory. A predatory encroachment claim usually turns on the extent of the franchisee’s rights as granted in the Franchise Agreement and Franchise Disclosure Document (UFOC). Franchisor's Failure to Register in California The franchisee might have additional claims or defenses against the franchisor if it failed to register or renew its registration in California. Check with the California Dept. of Corporations whether a franchisor has registered. Franchisor's Liquidated Damages The franchisor’s primary claim is for liquidated damages that are specified in the Franchise Agreement, or the recovery of the royalties and fees that the franchisee would have paid had he stayed in the system until the end of the term. California case law is unsettled and contradictory on the issue whether a franchisor can recover liquidated damages or future royalties from a franchisee. The big case on the issue is Radisson Hotels International, Inc. v. Majestic Towers, Inc., which stands for the general proposition that if the franchisee’s default causes franchisor to terminate, franchisor can recover liquidated damages / future royalties. Under Radisson, the Franchise Agreement’s liquidated damages provision must calculate damages in a way that approximates the franchisor’s actual expected losses. Non-Competition The franchisor also might try to enforce a non-competition clause in the Franchise Agreement. For more on this subject, see my articleFranchise Non-Competition Agreements in California. Shameless Plug I’ve tried to make this article as simple as possible. California franchise law is very complex, however. You need a competent franchise attorney to help you. If you want to read more about franchising, try my main pageFranchise Attorney. From there you can link to other pages and articles of interest. ...read more
By Matt Dickstein, Business Attorney July 22, 2011
Getting a divorce is never a pleasant experience. The cost of attorneys and court fees adds to the stress of the divorce. If both parties are in agreement with no party contesting any part of the divorce, you can file for a DYI uncontested divorce. ...read more
International divorce law can be complicated because national divorce laws vary from one another. If the couple is from different countries, one country's divorce laws may have jurisdiction over the couple in regards to the division of property and custody of children. ...read more