Holder, Sebelius convene day-long summit on health care fraud

High-ranking Obama administration officials are convening a day-long meeting in Massachusetts to brainstorm about ways to prevent health care fraud and abuse. In other news, a federal district judge upholds the prohibition on three former executives from the company that made the painkiller OxyContin — they will continue to be barred from involvement with any government-financed health care program.   

The Associated Press: Holder, Sebelius In Mass. For Health Fraud Summit
The U.S. attorney general and health secretary are convening a daylong summit in Boston to discuss ways to prevent fraud in the health care system (12/16).

The New York Times: Ruling Is Upheld Against Executives Tied to OxyContin
A federal district judge in Washington has upheld the disbarment of three former top executives of the company that made the prescription painkiller OxyContin, ruling that they should still be prohibited from involvement in any government-financed health care program (Meier, 12/15).

Meanwhile, on the topic of conflicts of interest:

NPR: Medical Schools Make Progress On Conflicts Of Interest
The nation's medical schools are doing a little better at policing conflicts of interest between faculty and drug companies. Members of the American Medical Students Association have turned the tables and now grade their schools on how well they manage conflicts. The group's fourth annual report card finds 1 in 5 med schools did better in 2010 than a year ago (Knox, 12/15).

---

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.