UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in NYC; $54.3 million Medicare fraud scheme; Lil Jon promotes colon cancer screening – Morning Medical Update

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UnitedHealthcare CEO killed in Manhattan

Brian Thompson, 50, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, one of the largest health insurers in the U.S., was fatally shot on Wednesday morning, outside of a hotel in New York City, New York, where the company was holding an investor meeting, according to multiple reports. There is no confirmed motive, and a police manhunt is underway in search of the attacker. Authorities called the shooting a, “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack.”

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, released a statement, saying they are “deeply saddened and shocked at the passing of our dear friend and colleague,” who was “a highly respected colleague and friend to all who worked with him.” They asked for patience and understanding as they work with the police. “Our hearts go out to Brian’s family and all who were close to him,” they wrote. NBC News and CNN have more.

$54.3 million Medicare fraud scheme

Three co-conspirators were sentenced to time in federal prison, and one to probation, for their respective roles in a $54.3 million health care fraud scheme, in which they paid kickbacks and bribes to telemarketers and telemedicine providers to secure orders for medically unnecessary prescriptions—mostly for topical creams—which were billed to Medicare. At the same time, some of the co-conspirators were operating companies that engaged in telemarketing activities to develop beneficiary leads.

They then paid kickbacks and bribes to telemedicine companies that employed or contracted physicians who signed prescriptions after a cursory telephone conversation with beneficiaries. After obtaining Medicare beneficiary information and signed prescriptions, they submitted claims to Medicare for the unnecessary medications, sometimes through multiple pharmacies they owned and controlled. In addition to their sentencing, the coconspirators were ordered to forfeit large sums of money and required to pay restitutions.

Lil Jon promotes colon cancer screening

Exact Sciences Corp. announced a partnership with Grammy award-winning musician Lil Jon to promote Cologuard, the company’s stool-sample-based at-home colon cancer screening test. The collaboration is dubbed the “Get Low #2” campaign, which is cleverly named as a sequel to Lil Jon’s hit song, “Get Low,” a reference to the fact that colon cancer is the nation’s second deadliest cancer and a play on the fact that Cologuard is a stool-sample-based test.

“Sometimes you gotta slow down and tune into your health,” Lil Jon said in a news release. “Some health topics can be uncomfortable to talk about, which can lead to people—especially Black men—not taking their health seriously until it’s too late. I re-worked one of my iconic records, ‘Get Low,’ to get people 45+ to ‘get low’ in a different way—this time, with an easier way to screen for colon cancer.” Pharmaceutical Executive has more on the collaboration.