Telemedicine owner gets 20 years in Medicare fraud; U.S. measles cases top 4,500 ahead of elimination review; varied social lives tied to slower cognitive decline — Morning Medical Update

Telemedicine company owner gets 20 years in $46.2M Medicare scheme

Prosecutors said physicians were paid to approve brace and genetic test orders without meaningful patient contact.

Christopher Harwood, 44, owner of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based telemedicine company TelevisitMD, was sentenced Oct. 23 to 20 years in prison for a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that ran for more than six years.

Prosecutors said Harwood used telemarketing to push Medicare beneficiaries into accepting orthotic braces and genetic tests they did not need. He paid physicians to approve the orders, often without a real relationship with the patient, then sold the signed orders to durable medical equipment suppliers, laboratories and marketers. He also owned several Florida durable medical equipment companies that billed Medicare for braces.

Medicare paid $17.9 million on the false claims, and Harwood netted more than $10.4 million. He pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and was ordered to pay $17.9 million in restitution and forfeit $10.4 million.

U.S. measles cases top 4,500 as elimination review nears

A regional panel meets Nov. 10-13 to weigh whether the U.S. keeps the measles-free status it has held since 2000.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed 4,588 measles cases this year as of Oct. 22, about double the 2,289 cases recorded in all of 2025. Cases have been reported in 47 jurisdictions, and 96% are tied to outbreaks.

Pennsylvania has the largest single outbreak, with 1,338 cases across 44 counties, according to Medical Daily. The CDC lists three measles deaths nationally, a count it says is subject to change as reviews are completed. Pennsylvania's health department has reported five measles-associated deaths in that state alone.

The Pan American Health Organization's measles elimination commission meets Nov. 10-13 to review data from 2025 and the first half of 2026. If the same strain of the virus circulated continuously for 12 months or more, the U.S. would lose the elimination status it has held since 2000. Canada lost its status in November 2025.

Varied social lives tied to slower cognitive decline

Volunteering and sports clubs stood out in data from 24 countries.

Older adults who took part in more kinds of social activities scored higher on cognitive tests and declined more slowly over time, according to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Researchers pooled data on 57,793 people from five aging surveys covering 24 countries, including the U.S. Health and Retirement Study, and followed them for about six years on average.

Taking part in three or more activities was tied to the strongest protection for memory and executive function. Volunteering and sports club membership were linked to a lower risk of cognitive decline in all five cohorts, while involvement in political, community or religious groups showed no consistent benefit.

The study is observational and cannot show cause and effect. The authors noted the surveys were not standardized against each other and measured how many activities people did, not their quality. Still, they called social engagement "a viable strategy to mitigate the risk of age-related cognitive decline." BMJ has an accompanying news release.