Feds bar Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes from government health programs

WASHINGTON — Theranos founder and ex-CEO Elizabeth Holmes is banned from federal health programs for nine decades, the health department announced Friday.

Holmes was sentenced in November 2022 to 11 years in prison following a trial that determined she knew her blood-testing startup, which was founded in 2003 and which claimed to be able to test for a range of diseases and risks with one finger prick, produced inaccurate and faulty results. Before government probes, Theranos raised hundreds of millions of dollars, named prominent former U.S. officials to its board, and explored a partnership with the U.S. military to use its tests on the battlefield.

The Health and Human Services Department can exclude anyone convicted of certain felonies from Medicare, Medicaid, and Pentagon health programs.

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