Hospital Indicted for Fraud; HHS Advice for RFK Jr.; Matt Damon Joins Debt Effort

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Health news and commentary gathered by MedPage Today staff

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MedPage Today Staff

January 9, 2src25

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Chesapeake Regional Healthcare in Virginia was indicted for healthcare fraud involving unnecessary surgical procedures.

Here’s the advice HSS Secretary Xavier Becerra had for his potential successor, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (AP)

As wildfires continue to engulf Southern California, this is how Los Angeles-area hospitals are handling the influx of patients. (ABC News)

Medicare drug plans can now cover the diabetes and obesity injectable tirzepatide (Zepbound) for obstructive sleep apnea, after the FDA approved this indication last month. (CNBC)

China reported a cluster of a new clade 1b mpox strain. (The Independent)

The World Organization for Animal Health wants more done to control the spread of bird flu following the first human death in the U.S. (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Consuming 3srcsrc mg of calcium per day was tied with a significantly lower risk for colorectal cancer in a prospective study of over 5srcsrc,srcsrcsrc women. (Nature Communications)

Here’s how President-elect Trump’s Greenland plan may affect access to popular medications like some GLP-1 receptor agonists. (New York Times)

Several British universities and other higher education establishments ditched Elon Musk’s X social media platform, citing its role in spreading misinformation. (Reuters)

UnitedHealth Group shareholders asked the company to investigate the impact of healthcare denials. (Reuters via MSN)

North Dakota became the first state to cover weight loss drugs under the ACA for diabetes and obesity. (Becker’s Healthcare)

A meta-analysis showed that the average life expectancy of people with dementia at time of diagnosis ranged from 5.7 years at age 65 to 2.2 years at age 85 in men, and from 8 to 4.5 years, respectively, in women. (BMJ)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) proposed a state law change that would make it easier to involuntarily hospitalize people in need of mental healthcare. (Gothamist)

Matt Damon is the latest actor to help people pay off their medical bills. (ABC 7 NY)

Many in North Carolina are still carrying the emotional trauma from Hurricane Helene’s floods. (NPR)

A patient at North Kansas City Hospital was found dead in the parking lot. (Fox 4 Kansas City)

Former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz died at age 37. A cause of death has not been revealed yet. (ESPN)