Health care executive guilty in $6.5M kickback scheme; new drug shows promise for reducing sleepiness; Boehringer Ingelheim recruits stars for CKD screening Super Bowl ad – Morning Medical Update

Health care executive pleads guilty in $6.5M kickback scheme in Vermont

A Florida health care executive has pleaded guilty to participating in a Medicare kickback scheme that billed millions for medical equipment patients never requested or received. Federal prosecutors said Evelyn Herrera, 62, of Loxahatchee, Florida, used her durable medical equipment company, Merida Medical Supplies Inc., to submit fraudulent claims for wrist, knee and back braces that were never requested nor received by patients identified in Vermont, across New England and nationwide. Merida billed Medicare about $6.5 million and was paid roughly $2.8 million. Authorities said Herrera also attempted to conceal proceeds through cryptocurrency transfers, international wire payments tied to property in Mexico and large cash withdrawals after a payment suspension. She faces up to five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced May 11.

Drug shows early promise for reducing excessive sleepiness

A wake-promoting drug already approved for other sleep disorders may help a largely overlooked group of early-morning shift workers stay alert. In a randomized clinical trial, Mass General Brigham researchers found that solriamfetol significantly reduced excessive sleepiness and improved functioning in workers with shift work disorder. After four weeks of treatment, participants taking solriamfetol were able to stay awake longer during simulated work hours and reported better productivity and daily functioning compared with placebo. The findings, published in NEJM Evidence, address a major gap in research, as most prior trials focused only on overnight shift workers. Researchers cautioned that longer studies are needed but said the results suggest a meaningful step toward improving safety and quality of life for workers who start their day when the brain is biologically primed for sleep.

Boehringer Ingelheim takes kidney test message to the Super Bowl

Boehringer Ingelheim is using the Super Bowl stage to push awareness of kidney disease screening, debuting its first-ever Big Game commercial to promote urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) screening. The ad, airing during the Feb. 8 game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, stars Octavia Spencer and Sofía Vergara and is part of the company’s “Detect the SOS” campaign, which urges people with high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes to ask their doctors about kidney testing. Spencer has type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure; Vergara’s mother has high blood pressure. Boehringer and partner advocacy groups say uACR screening remains underused despite guideline recommendations, leaving millions of Americans with chronic kidney disease undiagnosed and at higher risk for heart attack and stroke.