Aetna to pay $117.7M to settle Medicare Advantage False Claims allegations; ‘Google Earth’ for human organs; Wegovy may pose higher risk of ‘eye stroke’ than other GLP-1 drugs – Morning Medical Update

Aetna to pay $117.7M over Medicare Advantage risk coding

Aetna, the massive U.S. health insurance provider serving more than 36 million Americans, has agreed to pay $117.7 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by submitting or failing to correct inaccurate diagnosis codes for Medicare Advantage enrollees, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Federal prosecutors said the insurer, which is a subsidiary of CVS Health, inflated risk scores used by Medicare to determine payments, allowing the company to receive higher reimbursements for patients who were not as sick as reported. The government also alleged Aetna improperly coded some patients as having morbid obesity despite medical records — including BMI measurements — that did not support the diagnosis. The settlement resolves the allegations without a determination of liability, and a whistleblower who brought part of the case will receive about $2 million from the recovery.

Google Earth for human organs

Researchers have launched an open-access Human Organ Atlas, an interactive online platform that allows users to explore detailed 3D images of intact human organs — from full organs down to near-cellular structures. Published in Science Advances, the project uses a powerful imaging method called hierarchical phase-contrast tomography (HiP-CT), which relies on a synchrotron light source far brighter than conventional CT scanners to scan organs such as the brain, heart, lungs, kidney and liver without destroying tissue.

The platform currently includes hundreds of datasets from dozens of organs and can be accessed through a standard web browser, letting scientists, clinicians, students and the public “fly through” organ structures in unprecedented detail. Researchers say the atlas could advance disease research, medical education and artificial intelligence (AI) tools by providing one of the highest-resolution open 3D datasets of human organs ever assembled. Check it out here.

Wegovy may pose higher ‘eye stroke’ risk than other GLP-1 drugs

Wegovy may carry a higher risk of ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) — sometimes called an “eye stroke” that can cause sudden vision loss — compared with other semaglutide drugs, according to an analysis of FDA adverse event reports published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Researchers reviewing safety reports from 2017 to 2024 found the odds of ION were nearly five times higher with Wegovy than with Ozempic and more than three times higher in men than in women.

Although the condition remains rare and the database cannot determine true incidence or causation, investigators suggest the higher-dose injectable formulation used for obesity treatment may contribute to the signal. The authors say the findings highlight a potential dose-dependent safety concern and call for prospective studies to clarify the risk as GLP-1 medications continue to expand in use.