MEDICAL DEVICE FRAUD: Laura Perryman, founder and CEO of the medical device company Stimwave, was sentenced to six years in prison for health care fraud on Monday after she created and sold a sham neurostimulation device, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s office in Manhattan. Stimwave, based in Florida, manufactured a neurostimulation device designed to send electronic waves throughout the body to treat chronic pain. But when physicians had trouble implanting the device due to a faulty piece, jeopardizing Stimwave’s reimbursements, Perryman directed her company to replace the piece with a dummy plastic receiver that was not able to transmit electric waves to the body. Stimwave falsely billed the U.S. Medicare program $18,000 per device and put patients at risk, the district attorney said.
HEAT EMERGENCY: Gov. Kathy Hochul activated the state’s emergency operations center on Tuesday ahead of a four-day heat wave, in which some parts of the state are expected to experience temperatures over 100 degrees. The governor urged New Yorkers to take precautions to stay cool, including monitoring at-risk individuals for heat stroke and visiting cooling centers across the state. Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HOME CARE CHANGES: The state Department of Health released a request for proposals on Monday to contract with a company that will take over administration of the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, a popular $9 billion home care program that allows New Yorkers to hire their own caregivers, including family members. The new contract will be awarded to a single fiscal intermediary to conduct payroll and handle other administrative tasks for the roughly 225,000 consumers who get care through the program. The change is a part of a budget deal to contract with a single business to administer the program, down from the roughly 700 that do so currently. The Hochul administration estimated that the change could save the state $1 billion per year.
Amanda D'Ambrosio , 2024-06-19 11:33:03
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