HJNO Jul/Aug 2025

58 JUL / AUG 2025  I  HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS   Healthcare Briefs LDHConfirms First Human West Nile Virus Case Of 2025 The Louisiana Department of Health has con- firmed Louisiana’s first human case of West Nile virus of the 2025 mosquito season and urges all Louisianans to protect themselves frommosquito bites. This case was confirmed in an individual from Livingston Parish who was hospitalized due to complications from the infection. To protect patient confidentiality, no further information about the patient will be released. About one in 150 people who are infected with WNV develop a severe illness that can affect the brain, spinal cord, and nerves, which may even cause paralysis or death. West Nile virus has been actively spreading throughout Louisiana since its first detection in the state in 2002. To date in 2025, WNV activity has been confirmed in 14 parishes. In 2024, there were 57 confirmed human cases of WNV in Loui- siana, including three deaths. Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to $3.8 Million Durable Medical Equipment Fraud Scheme According to court documents, Michael L. Rig- gins, 62, of West Monroe, La., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud for his role in a durable medical equipment (DME) scheme. Riggins was the owner of Bluewa- ter Healthcare, a DME supply company in West Monroe. From 2018 to 2023, Riggins paid for doc- tors’ orders for medically unnecessary DME and tricked doctors into signing DME orders and cer- tificates of medical necessity in order to bill for it. Despite receiving hundreds of complaints regard- ing the fraudulent orders, Riggins submitted over $3.8 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare for supplying the DME and was reimbursed over $1.8 million. Riggins is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 2 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Louisiana House Oversight Committee Releases COVID Report The Nov/Dec 2024 issue of Healthcare Jour- nal of New Orleans included transcripts and in- depth coverage of the Louisiana House Select Committee on Homeland Security’s COVID-19 oversight hearings, including testimony from Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, MD, and the committee’s questioning of the state’s healthcare COVID-19 response. Representative Charles A. Owen, Vice Chairman of the committee, has released the committee’s formal report: State Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic to the Journal. The document outlines the committee’s findings, perspectives, and leg- islative recommendations — some of which may raise questions among healthcare leaders about their practicality and potential implications. Read the full HR133 Committee Report https://healthcarejournalno.com/sites/default/ files/HSCHS%20HR%20133%20report%20 adopted%205-22-25%20(1)%5B3%5D%20(3).pdf. Jodie Daguimol Joins Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center as Metairie Practice Manager Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center announced Jodie Daguimol as the new practice manager for the center’s Metairie location. Daguimol, who holds a master’s degree in public administration, comes to Mary Bird Per- kins with experience in healthcare administration. Her most recent role was clinic manager at LSU Health/LCMC, where she oversaw the daily oper- ations of LSU Health’s ob-gyn faculty practice and its internal medicine and pediatrics faculty. In her role as practice manager, Daguimol will oversee the daily operations of Mary Bird Perkins’ Metairie clinic. Located at 2800 Veterans Memo- rial Blvd., the clinic opened last October and specializes in the multidisciplinary management and treatment of patients with urologic cancers. It provides advanced care for prostate, bladder, kidney, and testicular cancers. Tulane Develops NewHandheld Device to Test for Tuberculosis Tulane University researchers have developed a handheld diagnostic device that can deliver rapid, accurate tuberculosis diagnoses in under an hour, according to a study published in Sci- ence Translational Medicine . Current testing devices are larger and expen- sive, and require either extensive on-site technol- ogy or shipment of samples to a laboratory else- where. The LIT test is designed to offer a low-cost TB testing solution, with each device costing less than $800 and less than $3 per test. In compari- son, another commonly used TB testing device costs at minimum $19,000 and the cost per test is around $100 in certain countries. TeamGleason Names Blair Casey CEO, David Darragh Chief Strategy Officer Team Gleason Foundation announced that Blair Casey is named chief executive officer and David Darragh as chief strategy officer. Good News for the Health Insurance Companies: Dr. Oz and RFK Are Letting You Regulate Yourselves —Again By Dianne Marie Normand Hartley In a recent press conference billed as “Secretary Kennedy, Administrator Oz to Host Press Confer- ence to Discuss Groundbreaking Health Insur- ance Reform,” the topic was prior authorizations. We won’t go into the weeds — you’ve heard it all before. In 2018. In 2023. And now again in 2025. We weren’t in the room, but I imagine insur- ance executives were thrilled. Something along the lines of: “Thanks for not regulating us — of course we’ll begin to monitor ourselves. They’re starting to pop us out there.” Because when Stat News asked the final ques- tion of a press conference notably light on specif- ics — “Dr. Oz, insurers made a similar pledge in 2018 that wasn't quite lived up to. What's differ- ent this time around?”—Dr. Oz responded, “Sec- retary Kennedy alluded to that. There was another Jodie Daguimol