$227M Medicare fraud over fake COVID-19 test kits; hundreds in MAHA urge RFK Jr. to keep pesticides on the agenda; a biomarker score to detect ultra-processed food intake – Morning Medical Update

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Two men charged in $227 million Medicare fraud scheme over fake COVID-19 test kid claims

Federal prosecutors have charged two Illinois men in a $227 million Medicare fraud scheme involving false claims for over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits. Syed Murtuza Kablazada, 34, and Syed Mehdi Hussain, 32, allegedly used sham labs and straw owners to submit fraudulent claims for test kits that were never ordered or delivered, often using the names of deceased Medicare beneficiaries. Between September 2022 and June 2023, Medicare paid out approximately $136 million in reimbursements. Both men face up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.

Hundreds of MAHA members urge RFK Jr. to keep pesticides on the agenda

Over 360 members of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement — including more than 30 farmers — sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week, urging him to “stand firm” against efforts by the pesticide industry and 79 Republican lawmakers to remove pesticide harms from the MAHA Commission’s agenda. The signers called for rejecting liability shields for agrochemical companies, reaffirming the Commission’s mission to investigate chronic illness and toxic exposures, and encouraging President Trump to oppose corporate immunity laws.

“It is the pesticide companies that are advancing harmful health policies by marketing more than 80 pesticides in the U.S. that are banned in other countries,” said Zen Honeycutt of Moms Across America.

NIH develops biomarker score to detect ultra-processed food intake

National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have created a poly-metabolite score that uses patterns in blood and urine to objectively measure how much ultra-processed food a person consumes — potentially improving research on diet and disease by reducing reliance on self-reported data. Published in PLOS Medicine, the study combined observational and clinical trial data to identify hundreds of metabolites linked to consumption of highly processed foods, like ready-to-eat meals and packaged snacks. The scores accurately distinguished between diets with 80% versus 0% ultra-processed food content. Researchers say the tool could help uncover how these diets contribute to chronic diseases, though further validation in diverse populations is needed.