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In announcing a crackdown Friday on companies it says were involved in fraudulent genetic testing, the U.S. Department of Justice brought charges against 35 individuals associated with dozens of telemarketing companies and testing labs. The federal investigation, called Operation Double Helix, went after schemes that allegedly targeted people 65 and older. According to the charges, the schemes involved laboratories paying illegal kickbacks and bribes to medical professionals who were working with fraudulent telemarketers, in exchange for the referral of Medicare beneficiaries. (Neighmond, 9/27)

In what U.S. law-enforcement officials are calling one of the biggest health-care frauds in history, the Justice Department said that Medicare was fraudulently billed $2.1 billion after seniors were enticed to take unnecessary genetic tests for cancer. The Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday that 35 defendants associated with dozens of telemedicine companies and cancer genetic testing laboratories had been charged with fraud. Those charged included nine doctors. (Brown, 9/27)

Federal agents took down an alleged Medicare scam Friday that exploited seniors’ curiosity about genetic medicine by enticing them to get their cheeks swabbed for unneeded DNA tests. Medicare was billed $2.1 billion. Dubbed “Operation Double Helix,” the crackdown targeted telemedicine companies, doctors and labs, in a joint effort by the Justice Department , the FBI, U.S. attorneys’ offices, and the Health and Human Services inspector general. Thirty-five people were charged around the country. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/27)

A new online Medicare Plan Finder tool could make it more time-consuming and difficult for seniors to research and enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan this year, advocates say. "I have people on the margins," said Julie Hine, a prescription analyst for the Senior Benefits Group, which is a state-licensed independent insurance broker and works with about 7,000 people each Medicare open enrollment period. Some of them are seniors who are homebound. Others don't have Internet access. She recalled one man who makes his prescription drug list on the back of a previously used envelope to save money on paper. (Shamus, 9/29)

As a graying population confronts the limited options for senior housing, seeking ways to maintain independence without the isolation that can accompany so-called aging in place, various grassroots alternatives are gaining footholds. Shared housing, cohousing and village organizations appeal to those hoping to avoid the high costs and institutional nature of assisted-living and nursing homes, or at least stave them off for as long as possible. (Span, 9/27)