Current Events

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 the companies in a 50-page federal whistleblower lawsuit filed last year that had, until recently, been under seal and out of the public eye.

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The recall involves about 10,200 batteries placed in refurbished AT&T Samsung Galaxy Note 4 cellphones by FedEx Supply Chain and distributed as replacement phones through AT&T’s Insurance program only from Dec. 2016 to April 2017.

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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 lawsuit filed in Brooklyn, filing papers to argue that a major federal civil rights law does not protect employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

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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 said. In three of those cases, the patient died within one to three days of having the balloon inserted.

Four of these reports involved the Orbera Intragastric Balloon System from Apollo Endo Surgery, and one involved the ReShape Integrated Dual Balloon System by ReShape Medical.

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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 look at the practice of pharmaceutical companies marketing opioids to physicians.

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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, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington sent comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opposing its proposal to reverse coarse on an Obama-era rule that banned nursing homes from putting language in resident contracts that require disputes to be settled by a third-party arbitrator rather than a court.

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(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 in food or water. Cyclospora infect the small intestine and most commonly cause watery diarrhea; other symptoms include abdominal cramping, nausea and weight loss.

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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 cases over the flawed medical devices, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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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 that prohibited nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid funds from including language in their resident contracts requiring that disputes be settled by a third party rather than a court.

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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 effects on both the burgeoning use of observation status in hospitals and the rights of people getting Medicare to dispute decisions about their care.

Observation status is intermediate hospital-based care between the emergency department and admission.
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Honda has issued a recall for more than 24,000 of certain CR-V models due to the risk of the fuel supply pipe leaking or disconnecting leading to a fire.

The recall includes certain AWD and 2WD models of Honda's 2017 CR-V crossover, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents. Dealers were notified of the issue on July 14, and owners should be tipped off by Aug. 25.

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