By Evereth Woodruff 
Nutrition, diet and Medicare Advantage plan ethics were prominent themes in this week’s episode of the Debunked podcast. MedCity News Editor in Chief Arundhati Parmar was joined by Paul Markovich, president and CEO of Ascendiun — the nonprofit parent company of Blue Shield of California. Debunked co-host Samir Batra, managing partner of Health Innovation Pitch, was away on vacation.
When he’s not scrapping medical research, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr is keen on reducing food additives, such as artificial flavors and colors, as part of the administration’s initiative Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).
In June, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law requiring that groceries containing one or more of 40 ingredients include a warning label in addition to requiring nutrition education and exercise to be taught in elementary, secondary schools and medical schools. Other states are looking into similar legislation.
That kicked off a wider discussion about the relationship between diet, exercise and obesity. Markovich cited a Duke University study that looked at “correlations between economic development, daily energy expenditure and the rise in a country’s obesity level”. The study concluded that changes in diet is the main cause of obesity in the U.S. and other developed countries.
Arundhati and Paul also discussed some of the highlights of the July House Ways and Means Joint Health and Oversight Subcommittee Hearing on Medicare Advantage plans. One issue is that providers, unhappy with reimbursement rates, are dropping MA plans. But a larger concern rests with a DoJ investigation into alleged MA plan practices, such as sending physicians to home visits and reporting diagnoses codes with increased risk adjustment scores without providing the treatment based on those diagnoses.
Check out the complete Debunked Podcast below!