Elizabeth Holmes Receives 90-Year Ban from Federal Health Programs

 Federal regulators dropped a bombshell on Friday, announcing a 90-year ban for Elizabeth Holmes, the convicted fraudster and founder of the now-defunct blood testing company Theranos, from participating in federal health programs—a practically lifelong exclusion.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) justified this unprecedented move by pointing to Holmes's 2022 conviction for fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Holmes, who is set to begin her roughly 11-year prison sentence in May 2023 (a term reduced by two years in July), had misled investors about the capabilities of Theranos's blood-testing technology.

In a statement, the OIG clarified, “The statutory minimum for an exclusion based on convictions like Holmes’s is five years. When certain aggravating factors are present, a longer period of exclusion is justified.” They considered factors such as the extended duration of the fraudulent acts, incarceration, and the substantial restitution order in determining the length of Holmes's exclusion.

Holmes's exclusion from federal health care programs implies she won't be eligible for benefits from programs like Medicare or Medicaid. Moreover, she will be barred from employment with entities that receive federal health care funding, except under limited circumstances.

Interestingly, Theranos's former COO, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who had a business relationship with Holmes as they helmed the company, had already been handed a similar 90-year exclusion from federal programs.

HHS Inspector General Christi A. Grimm emphasized the critical role of accurate diagnostic testing technology in public health, stating, “False statements related to the reliability of these medical products can endanger the health of patients and sow distrust in our health care system.” The stringent action against Holmes underscores the gravity of the consequences for those who compromise the integrity of health-related information.

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