FHIweekly 8/24/23: 'Just following orders' isn't a defense to fraud + Is leprosy endemic in Central Florida?

August 24, 2023 | Volume XIV | Issue 34

Is leprosy endemic in Central Florida? Researchers argue yes

Joe Mario Pedersen reports for WMFE via Health News Florida:

In July, a report showed Central Florida accounted for 81 percent of leprosy cases in Florida and almost one-fifth of nationally reported cases in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most cases were attributed to Brevard County, with Volusia County just behind it, according to the Florida Department of Health. When WMFE's original report came out in early August, there were 15 cases reported so far this year.

Since then, the total has grown to 16, with half occurring in Central Florida counties.

'Just following orders' isn't a defense to fraud

Coleman Consulting Group

A case from North Carolina highlights what we see too often: healthcare entrepreneurs and providers committing fraud, paying monetary penalties and even facing incarceration. But rarely do we see the penalties travel down the ladder to a company’s employees. A pharmacy owner was sentenced to 24 months this month for conspiracy to commit fraud. Apparently, the pharmacy owner ran a scheme for 11 years, billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers for prescription drugs that were never dispensed. Sadly, if you read enough of these OIG reports, billing for services that were not rendered is not new, and sooner or later, the authorities catch up to these criminals.

The interesting twist is that one of the pharmacist’s former employees was also sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with the same scheme.

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First RSV vaccine to protect newborns receives FDA approval

WXYZ-TV Detroit | Channel 7

This means that when pregnant mothers get the shot, they create antibodies to fight RSV. These antibodies are then passed to the growing baby through the placenta.

Inside

FloridaHealthIndustry.com

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