Florida broker pleads guilty in $135M ACA fraud scheme; for celiac patients, fiber may not be enough; FDA clears at-home cervical cancer test – Morning Medical Update

Florida insurance broker to pay over $135M for fraudulent ACA enrollment scheme

APSF and its parent company, AssuredPartners, targeted homeless and low-income individuals, enrolling them in subsidized plans they did not qualify for.

A Florida insurance brokerage and its former parent company have agreed to pay a combined $135 million to resolve allegations that they fraudulently enrolled thousands of vulnerable consumers into fully subsidized Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans they did not qualify for, generating $141.5 million in unwarranted federal subsidies. AP of South Florida (APSF) agreed to plead guilty and pay $27.6 million in restitution and parent company AssuredPartners agreed to pay $107 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations. Prosecutors say APSF used street marketers offering cash and gift cards to recruit consumers at homeless shelters and drug treatment clinics, then falsified their income on applications to maximize subsidy payments — leaving some enrollees unable to afford HIV medication, opioid treatment and mental health drugs after losing Medicaid access. APSF's former president, Cory Lloyd, was convicted in November 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

For celiac patients, fiber alone may not be enough

People with celiac disease often lack the gut bacteria needed to actually process the fiber they eat.

People with celiac disease may not benefit from high-fiber diets or supplements the way other patients do. That’s not because they aren’t eating enough fiber, but because they lack the gut bacteria needed to break it down, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

Researchers at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, found that celiac patients, both newly diagnosed and those who had followed a gluten-free diet for years, had significantly reduced levels of Prevotellaceae — a bacterial family that helps metabolize dietary fiber and regulate gut inflammation in the small intestine. “Adding more fiber won’t be the solution unless you fix the underlying problems with using it,” said lead author Mark Wilczynski, Ph.D.

The researchers also found that fiber type matters: inulin, found in bananas, garlic, and onions, promoted intestinal healing in preclinical models, while a corn-based resistant starch did not. Future treatment, the authors suggest, may need to combine dietary changes with targeted probiotics to restore the missing bacteria.

FDA clears at-home cervical cancer screening kit

The self-collection kit is expected to be available nationwide by prescription in coming months.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an at-home cervical cancer screening kit from lab equipment manufacturer Waters, allowing patients to collect a sample at home and mail it to a laboratory, with results sent to their physician. The kit is designed to detect all high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), which the World Health Organization estimates causes about 95% of cervical cancers when left untreated. Waters said roughly 60% of cervical cancers occur in people who are not screened or are screened less frequently than recommended. Nationwide availability by prescription is anticipated in the coming months. Pharmacy Times and Contemporary OB/GYN have more.