AMA president-elect has a brain tumor; Musk and Ramaswamy could cut funding to VA Medical Services; physician pleads guilty to Medicare fraud – Morning Medical Update

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AMA president-elect has a brain tumor

During a speech earlier this month, Bobby Mukkamala, MD, president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), found himself struggling to express himself, saying “In the middle of my speech, for a couple of minutes, I wasn’t making any sense. It was English, but none of it made any sense.”

He was examined at a Florida Urgent Care, which revealed a normal BP and no signs of atrial fibrillation. When he returned home and underwent an MRI, doctors found an 8 cm temporal lobe tumor on the left side of his brain, which physicians suspect is a grade 2 glioma. The five-year survival rate is between 40-80%, depending on the final pathology results. Mukkamala plans to undergo brain surgery in December, during which he will remain awake to answer language-processing queries. Read more from the AMA.

Department of Government Efficiency proposal to cut spending could include VA medical services

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who President-elect Donald Trump appointed to lead the new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) confirmed their plan to cut “unauthorized” federal spending, which could include the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care—although, they did not name the VA specifically. “DOGE will help end federal overspending by taking aim at the $500 billion-plus in annual federal expenditures that are unauthorized by Congress or being used in ways that Congress never intended,” Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Shereef Elnahal, VA Under Secretary for Health, expressed concern about any cuts to the agency, and that VA lawyers believe they have the legal authority to operate. If cuts are made, veterans could no longer be eligible for in-patient or out-patient services. Military.com has more.

Physician pleads guilty to Medicare fraud

Lilit Gagikovna Baltaian, 61, of Porter Ranch, California, was a licensed physician in California and an enrolled Medicare provider. She recently pleaded guilty to criminal health care fraud for false home health certifications and related fraudulent billings to Medicare. From 2012 through 2018, Baltaian falsely certified patients to receive home health care from at least four Los Angeles area home health agencies. Those home health agencies used her false certifications to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare, costing Medicare at least $1,449,050. Baltaian will be sentenced on April 3, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.