$120M adult day care, pharmacy Medicare and Medicaid fraud; U.S. birth rates fall; don’t forget your coffee – Morning Medical Update

Two Queens men charged in $120M Medicare, Medicaid fraud tied to adult day care and pharmacy

Federal prosecutors have charged two Queens men with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in an alleged $120 million scheme involving a pharmacy and social adult day care centers. Authorities say the defendants, Inwoo Kim, 42, and Daniel Lee, 56, both of Flushing, New York, paid illegal cash bribes and gift cards to seniors to induce prescription fills and day care enrollment, then billed Medicare and Medicaid for medically unnecessary or nonexistent services over a decade. If convicted, both men face up to 10 years in prison.

U.S. birth rates dipped in 2025

U.S. births fell slightly in 2025 to just over 3.6 million, about 24,000 fewer than the year before, according to newly updated provisional U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data. The decline suggests that the modest uptick seen in 2024 was likely temporary, as experts point to economic uncertainty, delayed childbearing and long-term declines in fertility rates as continuing pressures on U.S. birth trends. AP has more.

2-3 caffeinated drinks a day cut dementia risk

Drinking two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day — or one to two cups of caffeinated tea — was associated with a lower risk of dementia in a large, decades-long study published in JAMA. Researchers found no similar benefit from decaffeinated coffee, and the apparent cognitive advantage plateaued beyond moderate intake, underscoring that more caffeine isn’t necessarily better. The New York Times has more.