Cancer centers accused of Medicare fraud, unsafe practices
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Two of the nation’s largest cancer-care providers are accused of engaging in an illegal “gentleman’s agreement” to divide up treatment services in Florida.
The allegation against Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute and 21st Century Oncology lists multiple claims — gender discrimination, fraudulent Medicare billing and unsafe medical practices — against...
F.D.A. Urges Court to Block New York City’s Calorie Count Law
The Food and Drug Administration has filed court papers in support of an effort to overturn a New York City law requiring calorie counts to be posted by certain establishments — at least the second time the Trump administration has inserted itself into a local case.
Last month, the Justice Department entered a federal discrimination...
FDA Warns of Gastric Balloon Deaths
This article is a collaboration between MedPage Today® and: Medpage Today
The FDA sent a letter to healthcare providers warning of reports of seven deaths with liquid-filled intragastric balloon systems used to treat obesity.
In five cases, the cause of death was unclear, but all occurred within a month or less of balloon placement, the agency...
Study: Doctors received more than $46 million from drug companies marketing opioids
One in 12 doctors has received money from drug companies marketing prescription opioid medications, according to a study released Wednesday afternoon.
Researchers at Boston Medical Center found that from 2013 to 2015, 68,177 doctors received more than $46 million in payments from drug companies pushing powerful painkillers. Researchers believe it is the first study to...
16 states, DC push Trump admin to protect right to sue nursing homes
The District of Columbia and 16 states are pushing the Trump administration to protect nursing home residents’ right to take facilities to court over alleged abuse, neglect and sexual assault.
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine and state attorneys general for California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon,...
Parasitic cyclospora infections up 134% this summer
(CNN)There were 206 cases of cyclospora infections reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from the first of May to the beginning of August, a 134% increase from the 88 cases reported over the same time period in 2016.
Cyclospora infections or cyclosporiasis are caused by ingestion of the parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis...
Endo Sets Aside $775 Million to Settle Remaining Mesh Lawsuits
Endo International Plc said it agreed to set aside $775 million to resolve the last batch of lawsuits alleging the company’s vaginal-mesh implants eroded in some women, leaving them incontinent and in pain.
Endo’s settlement of the remaining 22,000 mesh suits means the company has now set aside more than $2.6 billion to wipe out...
Fight over right to sue nursing homes heats up
Consumer groups are making a last ditch effort to stop the Trump administration from stripping nursing home residents and their families of the right to take facilities to court over alleged abuse, neglect or sexual assault.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) announced plans in June to do away with an Obama-era rule...
Federal Judge OKs A Class Action Lawsuit Over Medicare Observation Appeals
Two of the greatest sources of frustration for Medicare recipients and their families are hospital observation status and the government’s incredibly complex appeals process. On Monday, a federal judge in Hartford, CT certified a class action lawsuit aimed at addressing both. The judge’s eventual decision in the case (Alexander v. Price) could have far-reaching...
