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President Joe Biden's administration has said it plans to appeal the 5th Circuit's decision as well. The 5th Circuit's decision partially sided with the anti-abortion groups and doctors who challenged mifepristone. In April, the Supreme Court granted emergency requests by the Justice Department and the pill's manufacturer Danco Laboratories to put on hold Kacsmaryk's order while litigation continued. Mifepristone is taken with another drug called misoprostol to perform medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions. Since last year's Supreme Court decision, at least 14 U.S. states have put in place outright abortion bans while many others prohibit abortion after a certain length of pregnancy.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, mifepristone, Joe Biden's, Jessica Ellsworth, Circuit upended, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Roe, Wade, Andrew Chung, Will Dunham Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, U.S, Supreme, Danco Laboratories, New, Circuit, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, Justice Department, mifepristone, Republican, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, Defending, Thomson Locations: Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, New Orleans, Amarillo , Texas, New York

☆ Justice Dept. Asks Supreme Court to Hear Abortion Pill Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | More About Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Friday evening to hear a challenge to the availability of a commonly used abortion pill, raising the possibility that the justices will rule on the fate of the drug. The case centers on the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug more than two decades ago and could have broader implications for the pharmaceutical industry, including the agency’s regulatory authority over other medications. The request came in response to a ruling by a federal appeals court last month that upheld the legality of the pill but imposed significant restrictions on its distribution. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit would prevent the drug from being sent through the mail or prescribed by telemedicine. For now, the pill remains available because the Supreme Court determined in April that access to the drug would remain unchanged until the appeals process finished.

Organizations: Department, Food, U.S ., Appeals, Fifth Locations: United States

After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade last year, it looked like the number of abortions would soon plummet across the country. The number of legal abortions has held steady, if not increased, nationwide since 2020, our colleagues Amy Schoenfeld Walker and Allison McCann reported today. The increase in use of those options has offset the decrease in abortions resulting from new state bans, Amy and Allison found. As you can see, states bordering those with bans largely saw increases in the number of abortions in the first half of 2023 compared with the same period in 2020. In Illinois, for example, estimated abortions rose 69 percent.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Amy Schoenfeld Walker, Allison McCann, Amy, Allison Organizations: Guttmacher Institute Locations: In Illinois

☆ Abortions Rose in Most States This Year, New Data Shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Amy Schoenfeld Walker | Allison Mccann | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

Abortions rose in nearly every state where the procedure remains legal, but the change was most visible in states bordering those with total abortion bans. Data was not collected from the 14 states with abortion bans in effect in the first part of the year. Range of 2023 estimates 2020 count Low Median High 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 Calif. N.Y. Ill. Fla. N.J. N.C. Both reports show significant increases in abortions in states without abortion bans, a change that anti-abortion advocates and legislators are watching closely. Guttmacher researchers collected abortion data before legislatures enacted bans and restrictions in Indiana, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Persons: Rose, telemedicine, Court’s Dobbs, ”, Caitlin Myers, Maine, Ariz, Nev, Isaac Maddow, isn’t, Dobbs, Dr, Myers, . Kan, WeCount, we’ve, Katie Daniel, Susan B, Anthony Pro Organizations: Ore, Ill . Utah W.Va, D.C, Guttmacher Institute, Middlebury College, ”, Minn, Maine Conn, R.I . Ore . Iowa Md, Miss, Ariz . D.C, Colo, Ill, S.C . D.C, N.M . Utah Ill, Va . Iowa Kan, R.I . Ore . Iowa Calif, Ind . Utah Iowa Hawaii Del, America Locations: . Maine, N.D, Vt, Minn, N.H . Idaho S.D, N.Y, Mass, Wis, Mich, Conn, Wyo, R.I, Pa . Iowa, Nev . Ohio Ind, Md, Del, Ill . Utah, Colo, Calif, Va, Kan, Mo, Ky, N.C, Tenn, Okla, ., N.M ., Miss . Ala . Texas La, Alaska Fla, Hawaii States, N.H . Idaho, S.D, Nev . Ohio, Del . Ind, Colo . Va . Calif, Hawaii, United States, Washington, Kan . Ohio Fla, R.I . Ore . Iowa, Ariz ., Ind, La, Nev . Tenn, Okla . Mich, Wash, Pa, Texas, Fla, Pa . Colo, Wash . Ohio Mich, Ga, S.C ., N.M . Utah, Va . Iowa, Pa . N.Y, Okla . Tenn, Nev . Mich, In Illinois, Colorado , Kansas, New Mexico, South Carolina, Arizona , Georgia, Indiana, Arizona, Georgia, California, Florida , Illinois, New York, Ill, Fla . N.J, Pa . Mich, Va . Colo, Wash . Ohio, Ind . Utah Iowa Hawaii, R.I . Maine, Mont . Vt, Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana , North Carolina

☆ Biden is pouring nearly $700 million into internet access for rural communities so that kids don't 'have to sit in the back of a mama's car in a McDonald's parking lot in order to do homework'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Biden administration announced nearly $700 million in funding for rural, high-speed internet projects. The funding comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which pours billions into internet access. That money funds, in part, the USDA's ReConnect program, which disburses loans and grants to programs intended to get rural communities online. "For too long, rural communities haven't had access to basic resources like affordable, reliable, high-speed internet," Mitch Landrieu, senior advisor to the president and White House infrastructure coordinator, said in a press call. According to 2018 Census data on internet use, Americans living in cities were more likely to have internet access than their rural counterparts: 86% of urban households had an internet subscription, compared to 81% for rural households.

Persons: Biden, Mitch Landrieu, it's, BroadBandNow, Landrieu Organizations: Biden, Service, White, Pew Research Center Locations: Wall, Silicon, haven't, Alaska, America

WASHINGTON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A Georgia man who was convicted late last year for his role in a $463 million genetic testing scheme to defraud Medicare was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Minal Patel, 44, of Atlanta, owned LabSolutions LLC, a lab enrolled with Medicare that performed sophisticated genetic tests. Patel conspired with patient brokers, telemedicine companies, and call centers to target Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing calls falsely stating that Medicare covered expensive cancer genetic tests, according to prosecutors. Patel was indicted in 2019 on charges of healthcare fraud and paying and receiving kickbacks to and from marketers who collected cheek swabs from patients for genetic testing. Back then, U.S. federal agents raided genetic testing laboratories, and 35 people were criminally charged in four states in a crackdown on genetic testing fraud that officials said caused $2.1 billion in losses to federal healthcare insurance programs.

Persons: Minal Patel, Patel, LabSolutions, Kanishka Singh, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Medicare, Justice Department, Thomson Locations: Georgia, Atlanta, Florida, United States, U.S, Washington

☆ Appeals Court Upholds Abortion Pill Restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Pam Belluck | More About Pam Belluck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

A federal appeals court panel said Wednesday that it would impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone that would prevent the drug from being prescribed by telemedicine or dispensed through the mail. But the decision — the latest development in a closely watched lawsuit filed by abortion opponents seeking to block access to abortion pills — will not take effect until the Supreme Court ultimately decides the case. In a ruling this spring, the high court said mifepristone should remain available under the current rules until the appeals process concludes. In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld part of a decision issued in April by a federal judge in Texas. That decision, by Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, had nullified the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the pill 23 years ago.

Persons: mifepristone, Judge Matthew J, Kacsmaryk Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Fifth Locations: Texas

Used boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, line a trash can at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 20, 2023. Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of ruling that the drug must be pulled off the market altogether, as a lower court had done. The three-judge 5th Circuit panel was reviewing an order in April by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas. They contend the FDA used an improper process when it approved mifepristone in 2000 and did not adequately consider the drug's safety when used by minors. The court also reversed the agency's 2016 decision to allow mifepristone to be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, up from seven.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Kacsmaryk, Erin Hawley, William Ho, mifepristone, telemedicine, Jennifer Walker Elrod, Wade, Brendan Pierson, Nate Raymond, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, Circuit, U.S, Supreme, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, White, Alliance, Hippocratic Medicine, FDA, Alliance Defending, STATES, Guttmacher Institute, American College of Obstetricians, American Medical Association, Thomson Locations: Alamo, Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, New Orleans, Amarillo , Texas, New York, Boston

Circuit Court of Appeals stopped short of ruling that the drug must be pulled off the market altogether, as a lower court had done. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice said that the Biden administration will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, supports abortion rights and last year ordered the federal health agency to expand access to mifepristone. [1/2]Used boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, line a trash can at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 20, 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Kacsmaryk, Erin Hawley, Susan B, Anthony Pro, Alexis McGill Johnson, Evan Masingill, Evelyn Hockstein, James Ho, mifepristone, telemedicine, Jennifer Walker Elrod, Wade, Brendan Pierson, Patrick Wingrove, Nate Raymond, Sharon Bernstein, Trevor Hunnicutt, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Circuit, U.S . Department of Justice, U.S, Supreme, Alliance, Hippocratic Medicine, FDA, Alliance Defending, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, U.S . Food, Alamo Women's, REUTERS, Guttmacher Institute, American College of Obstetricians, American Medical Association, Reuters, Thomson Locations: U.S, New Orleans, Amarillo , Texas, Alamo, Carbondale , Illinois, New York, Boston, Sacramento , California, Washington

Boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, are seen at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, U.S., April 20, 2023. Circuit Court of Appeals means for doctors and patients:CAN PATIENTS STILL GET THE ABORTION PILL? WHAT IS MEDICATION ABORTION? Medication abortion is a two-drug regimen consisting of mifepristone followed by misoprostol used to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks. If the ruling is upheld, doctors could still prescribe the abortion pill, but with restrictions.

Persons: Evelyn Hockstein, mifepristone, misoprostol, Wade, Matthew Kacsmaryk, Danco, GenBioPro, Brendan Pierson, Noeleen Walder, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Alamo Women's, REUTERS, New, Circuit, U.S, Supreme, Danco Laboratories, FDA, Hippocratic Medicine, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, District, Thomson Locations: Carbondale , Illinois, U.S, New Orleans, United States, Texas, Amarillo , Texas

☆ Insurers face long road, high cost to cover obesity drugs after promising Wegovy heart health data
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

There is likely a long way to go before the U.S. sees increased insurance coverage for obesity drugs. While the trial results demonstrate that obesity drugs may have significant health benefits beyond shedding unwanted pounds, organizations representing U.S. insurers emphasized that the data is still preliminary. "Health insurance providers will continue to analyze new evidence as it becomes available," he added. Ceci Connolly, CEO of the Alliance of Community Health Plans, acknowledged the promise of the data but said "outrageous prices should give everyone pause." The organization represents regional, community-based health plans that cover more than 18 million Americans across the U.S.

Persons: Jim Vondruska, Wegovy, Eli Lilly, David Allen, Ceci Connolly, Jared Holz, It's, Debra Tyler's, Joe Buglewicz, Eduardo Grunvald, George Frey, UCSD's Gunvald, Eli, Ethan Lazarus, Lazarus Organizations: Reuters Novo Nordisk, Novo Nordisk, America's Health, Alliance of Community Health, U.S, Drugs, Pfizer, Medicare, CVS, Aetna, CNBC, Washington Post, Getty, UCSD Health's Center, International Foundation of Employee, University of Texas System, UTS, Novo, Reuters, Obesity Medicine Association, New England, of Medicine Locations: Chicago , Illinois, U.S, Mizuho, Killingworth, Conn, Texas

☆ Lyme disease: A doctor explains what it is
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Katia Hetter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —As model Bella Hadid opens up about Lyme disease and other health issues, her ordeal brings up many questions. Lyme disease is transmitted through the bite of a particular tick, the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus). CNN: Is there a blood test one could take to see whether they have Lyme disease? False positives can also occur, with some other tickborne diseases and autoimmune illnesses triggering a positive result in the absence of Lyme disease. Wen: Without a vaccine, the best way to prevent Lyme disease is to prevent tick bites.

Persons: Bella Hadid, Leana Wen, Lyme, Wen, It’s Organizations: CNN, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Getty, National Institute of Allergy, Pfizer Locations: Lyme, United States

☆ Virtual Healthcare Has Green Benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Cecilia Butini | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Virtual doctor’s appointments are helping healthcare companies reduce carbon emissions, though sustainability is mostly seen as a side benefit of telehealth rather than its main driver. The healthcare industry is responsible for about 5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, of which the U.S. healthcare system alone accounts for a quarter. Similarly, in England, medicines, buildings, equipment and other supply-chain items generate most of the National Health Service’s emissions, according to official NHS figures. The company has designed an app for teleconsultations that is able to show patients the carbon emissions avoided through that consultation. In line with national data, the company said its Scope 3 emissions account for 75% of its total emissions.

Persons: telehealth, Cynthia Cox, KFF, ”, Colin Cave, ” Cave, Glyn Richards, Ben Phillips, BUPA, Marijka Grey, Kyle Zebley, — Dieter Holger, Cecilia Butini Organizations: McKinsey, Sustainable Business, Affordable, Energy, U.S . Agency for Healthcare Research, National Health, Kaiser Permanente, Permanente Kaiser Permanente, Spain —, CommonSpirit Health, CommonSpirit, American Telemedicine Association Locations: England, telemedicine, Kaiser, U.S, Northwest, U.K, Spain, Grey, Europe

☆ Federal Appeals Court Further Limits Abortion Access on Guam
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( David W. Chen | More About David W. Chen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Though abortion is legal in Guam up to 13 weeks of pregnancy, and later in certain cases, the last doctor who performed abortions left the island in 2018. BackgroundAbortion has long been a taboo topic on the culturally conservative island where about 80 percent of the inhabitants are Catholic. A federal court ruled that the ban was unconstitutional and blocked the territorial government from enforcing it, but the attorney general is fighting to try to revive the ban. That law was then blocked by a federal judge, allowing the doctors to send abortion pills. But with the momentum of the Supreme Court decision last year that overturned the national right to abortion, the Guam attorney general’s office said the injunction should be lifted.

Persons: Douglas Moylan, Vanessa L, Williams, general’s, Donald J, Trump, George W, Bush, Alexa Kolbi, “, ”, Moylan, Roe, Wade, Guam’s Organizations: Republican, New York Times, American Civil Liberties Union Locations: Guam, San Francisco, Hawaii, Honolulu, ”

☆ Amazon rolls out its virtual health clinic nationwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Annie Palmer | In Annierpalmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is rolling out its virtual health clinic service nationwide, the company announced Tuesday. Amazon does not provide the telemedicine services itself, but instead provides Amazon Clinic as a platform to connect telemedicine partners with patients. With Tuesday's announcement, users in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., can access Amazon Clinic via video visits. Due to regulatory issues, message-based chat on Amazon Clinic is only available in 32 states. Amazon Clinic doesn't yet accept insurance, but consumers can use insurance to help pay for medications prescribed through the service.

Persons: Nworah Ayogu, Ayogu, Berkshire Hathaway Organizations: Amazon Clinic, Curai, Alpha, D.C, CNBC, Amazon, Berkshire, JPMorgan Locations: Washington, PillPack

☆ Quest Diagnostics launches Alzheimer's blood test for consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

CHICAGO, July 31 (Reuters) - Quest Diagnostics (DGX.N) on Monday launched the first direct-to-consumer blood test to detect abnormal levels of beta amyloid, a key Alzheimer's protein which can appear years before dementia symptoms arise. The $399 test, called AD-Detect, uses the same technology as a blood test the company launched for use by doctors in early 2022. Users must first pay for the test on Quest's website. Quest will then arrange for an appointment with a telemedicine doctor to order it on their behalf. Quest's lab-developed test, created and performed in a single laboratory, has not undergone any FDA review.

Persons: Michael Racke, Biogen, Eli Lilly, Racke, Julie Steenhuysen, Richard Chang Organizations: Quest Diagnostics, Monday, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Thomson Locations: Eisai, Alzheimer's

☆ Full Stack Observability is key for modern businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Insider Studios With Cisco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Full Stack Observability provides the key to unlock all that. From that standpoint, Cisco's Full Stack Observability represents an industry revolution. With Full Stack Observability, customers and partners can develop modern solutions to empower new observability use-cases delivering on great end-user and application experiences. "All of this rolls up to the most important aspect of Cisco Full Stack Observability. Let Cisco's Full Stack Observability help your business deliver flawless, secure digital experiences.

Persons: Carlos Pereira, OpenTelemetry, Pereira, Cisco's, they're, We've Organizations: Companies, Cisco, Insider Studios

☆ Opinion | How to Reduce the High Rates of Maternal Mortality
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “More Mothers Are Dying, and It’s Preventable,” by Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell (Opinion guest essay, July 17):There are other ways to address the high maternal mortality and morbidity rates. Improve abortion access at any gestational age when maternal life is at risk. Educate high-risk women of all ages on long-term, reversible contraception (especially IUDs). Make it easier to credential or re-credential older, retired professionals (physicians, nurse midwives) across state lines to assist with the shortage of medical practitioners. Nutrition or health classes are often part of school curriculums; educate, screen and treat at younger ages for hypertension and other medical conditions.

Persons: Veronica Gillispie

☆ WeightWatchers could either win big or lose faithful customers, or both, in its pivot to Ozempic trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sequence offers access to weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Analysts say the move could save the company, but some WeightWatchers members aren't happy. Although the medication has gained popularity online and among celebrities, veteran WeightWatchers members aren't all happy with the company's pivot. Some WeightWatchers members expressed concern that the company was abandoning its message of self-restraint for the easy solution of weight-loss medication. Sequence, meanwhile, prescribes weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy and helps patients afford the drugs through insurance and reimbursements.

Persons: WeightWatchers, aren't, They're, Goldman Sachs, Sima Sistani, Jenny Craig Organizations: WW, Inc, Bloomberg, Employers

Overall, an FDA spokesperson says that “trial participants should reflect the population that is likely to use the product if FDA-approved. Across a group of 10 novel cancer therapies approved by the FDA in 2022, data shows the share of Black participants in key clinical trials ranged from zero to 8%. “Access to clinical trials at the sites where patients are living is an important factor to changing the landscape,” Perez says. “There’s been some novel ways to recruit patients, like using the church and using barbershops to recruit Black patients,” Cho says. Haddad says a number of Mayo patients were receiving experimental therapies through clinical trials when the pandemic began.

Persons: ”, Leslie Cho, Robert, Suzanne Tomsich, it’s, Edith Perez, Bolt Biotherapeutics, ” Perez, Eli Lilly, “, Lilly “, they’ll, Craig Lipset, ” Lipset, ” Cho, “ There’s, Dr, Tufia Haddad, Haddad, Mayo, Jennifer Dahne, Larry Hawk, Hawk Organizations: Women’s Cardiovascular, Cleveland Clinic, of Cardiovascular Medicine, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, FDA, “, Health, Committee, Cancer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Centers for Disease Control, Research Alliance, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, Care, Mayo’s Center for Digital Health, College of Medicine, Medical University of South, of Psychology, University, Buffalo, SUNY, JAMA Locations: U.S, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Los Angeles County, Alaska, “, Medical University of South Carolina

☆ AI-Targeted Internet Advertisements Fueling Looming Addiction Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Albert Fox Cahn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

A new breed of direct-to-consumer services is aggressively using targeted ads to sell habit-forming medications. In short, AI and surveillance capitalism, which empower today's targeted ads, have joined forces with the deadly OxyContin playbook. As the Journal reported, after ADHD medications grew to 20% of the VC-funded company's business, driving a $4.8 billion valuation, things came crashing to earth. We as a society may have come to accept being stalked by targeted ads, but consequences are much graver when the product itself is a danger. But above all, we need rules that ban targeted ads for drugs that can get patients hooked.

Persons: Taylor Swift, they're, haven't, Van Zee, OxyContin, prescribers, Dr, David Sack, Anthony Yeung, recreationally, Yann Poncin, shih, Ryan Haight, Ryan Haight Act's, Albert Fox Cahn Organizations: Circle, Purdue, American, of Public Health, Sackler family's pharma, Physicians, Yale School of Medicine, Bloomberg, Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Health, Human Services, Ryan, Twitter, FDA Locations: Canadian, California, United States, New Zealand, New York

☆ Healthcare VCs are focusing their bets on a handful of top startups, forcing the rest to scramble to stay afloat
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

In the first half of 2023, healthcare investors have written big checks for their top startup picks. 2023 is on track to be the lowest year of healthcare funding since 2019, Rock Health says. Digital-health startups in the US raised $6.1 billion in the first half of 2023, Rock Health's H1 2023 funding report published on Monday found. Right now, 2023 is on track to be the lowest healthcare funding year since 2019, according to Rock Health. Krasniansky said Rock Health expects many of the impending shutdowns to impact healthcare startups that sell products and services to patients online and on-demand, especially direct-to-consumer companies like telemedicine or mail-order-pharmacy startups.

Persons: It's, haven't, Healthcare's, healthcare's, Adriana Krasniansky, Krasniansky, Ian Chiang, he's, Lynne Chou O'Keefe, it's, Corey McCann, Chou O'Keefe, — Organizations: Rock Health, megadeals, Monogram Health, Frist Cressey Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Define Ventures, Pear, Madison, Pear Therapeutics

☆ Opinion: You might want to rethink taking melatonin as a sleep aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Opinion Jennifer Martin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —You may know someone who has taken melatonin to help them sleep. Sometimes, they mention a friend who recommended a specific brand that’s supposed to be “really strong.” Then I ask them if taking melatonin has worked for them. Finally, people can become psychologically dependent on taking the supplement and become afraid of what will happen to their sleep if they stop taking melatonin. To understand how melatonin supplements work (and why they often don’t), it’s important to look at how the hormone naturally functions in the human body. This makes consulting a sleep specialist before taking melatonin all the more important.

Persons: Jennifer Martin, Australia — Organizations: David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, American Academy of Sleep, CNN, JAMA, European Union, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, cannabidiol, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia

☆ The telehealth services we all relied on during COVID are fading away — but telemedicine may be entering a new era as providers look to bring the clinic home
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Natalie Rahhal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But it's exhausted the capabilities of asynchronous care, one healthcare expert told Insider. The answer may lie in in-home monitoring technology, healthcare experts told Insider, which could be the next phase of telemedicine. Another example of a telemedicine model that uses in-home monitoring to expand access to care is the startup Bicycle Health. But there are obstacles to getting this kind of care to patients, including doctors' resistance to telemedicine and federal and state regulation. "For one-quarter century, this has been the domain of states," Kyle Zebley, senior vice president of public policy at the American Telemedicine Association, told Insider.

Persons: it's, Alana Saltz, Saltz, Ateev, Mehrotra, Danny Nieves, Kim, Nieves, telehealth, —, Kyle Zebley, Zebley, that's Organizations: Healthcare, Morning, Harvard University, Technology, Health, Bicycle Health, American Telemedicine Association, McKinsey Locations: COVID, —

☆ Justice Department charges 78 people with $2.5 billion in health-care fraud
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it has recently charged 78 people with $2.5 billion in separate health-care fraud and opioid abuse schemes. The defendants allegedly defrauded programs used to take care of elderly and disabled people, and in some cases used the ill-gotten money to buy exotic cars, jewelry, and yachts, the DOJ said. Among those charged are 11 defendants accused of submitting $2 billion in fraudulent claims through telemedicine, as well as 10 defendants charged in connection with fraudulent prescription drug claims. In all, prosecutors filed charges against people in 16 states in cases that were lodged or unsealed in the past two weeks as part of the coordinated crackdown. In the scheme cited by Garland, executives of supposed software and services companies submitted $1.9 billion in fraudulent claims to Medicare for items that were not eligible for reimbursement, according to the DOJ.

Persons: General Merrick Garland, Garland, Brett Blackman, Gregory Schreck, Johnson, Gary Cox Organizations: of Justice, DOJ, Justice Department, Southern, Southern District of Locations: telemedicine, Johnson County , Kansas, Maricopa County , Arizona, U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Florida

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