MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Three Miami residents pleaded guilty to playing roles in the $200 million Medicare scam, the largest mental-health clinic con in U.S. history.
Joseph Valdes, 30, a marketer for the company, and James Edwards, 65, a recruiter, admitted to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and illegal kickbacks to patients.
A third defendant, Adriana Mejia, 40, pleaded guilty to money-laundering conspiracy.
American Therapeutics co-owners Lawrence Duran, 49, and Marianella Valera, 40, orchestrated the scheme through which they ordered unnecessary psychotherapy for thousands of patients who faked mental illness, according to the Justice Dept. The company billed Medicare for $200 million, netting $83 million over eight years.
The Miami couple is in custody and faces sentencing in September, the Miami Herald reported.
So far seven of the 24 employees and others charged in the case have pleaded guilty.
Gentler defibs make implants last longer, cause less tissue damage
Low-energy defibrillators may be able to restart hearts while reducing some of the tissue damage and discomfort associated with traditional defibrillators, according to researchers at the Max Planck Institute and Cornell University.
The research team devised a new approach to defribrillation that greatly reduces the intensity of the shocks by delivering a series of five small pulses rather than one big pulse, IEEE Spectrum reported.
The study is published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.
Medicare and Medicaid need beefier security – or any security
The federal government’s methods for analyzing Medicare and Medicaid data for potential fraud are woefully inadequate in detecting the billions of dollars in fraudulent claims paid out yearly, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
The systems that are in place don’t even include Medicaid data, and only 41 of the 639 employees that were supposed to receive training on the system have done so.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services lack plans to finish the security system, which will try to turn the fragmented database that exists now, where data is stored in separate systems, into a well-oiled machine that can put a dent in the $60 to $90 billion paid out in fraudulent claims each year, the Associated Press reported.
Developing nations suffer an unequal burden of stroke and heart disease
Rates of heart disease and stroke may be closely tied to national income, according to research from the University of California, San Francisco.
By looking at heart disease and stroke statistics from 192 countries, collected by the World Health Organization, researchers found that developing countries tend to suffer more death and disability by stroke and heart disease than countries with higher national incomes.
"This is significant because knowing that the burden of stroke is higher in some countries focuses attention on developing a better understanding of the reasons for this pattern of disease and may help public health officials to prioritize resources appropriately," said Dr. Anthony Kim, assistant professor of neurology at UCSF who conducted the study.
Unilife ships first supply of prefilled syringes to Sanofi
Unilife Corp. (NSDQ:UNIS) shipped its initial supply of Unifill prefilled syringes containing antithrombotic agents and vaccines to Sanofi SA (EPA:SAN) under an exclusive agreement that landed Unilife $40 million.
"The start of initial sales of the Unifill syringe is arguably the most significant achievement in our company’s history," said Unilife CEO Alan Shortall in the release. "The Unifill syringe is generating strong interest from an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies for use in therapeutic classes outside of those retained by Sanofi. These pharmaceutical companies recognize the significant potential of the Unifill syringe to help generate powerful brand differentiation for their injectable drugs within competitive therapeutic drug classes."