Some companies are tying payments to medical test results. This year, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is offering $200 insurance rebates to its own employees who can maintain “healthy levels” of blood pressure, cholesterol and other risk factors — or show they’re making an effort to improve them.
In other parts of the country, employers have gotten even tougher. Alabama announced plans to charge what some call a “fat tax,” a $25 monthly Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that you can’t turn a corner these days without seeing an ad for Gardasil. Persistent reminders to get the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine have spread across a seemingly endless number of public and private spaces.
Television ads challenge young women to be “one less” cancer statistic, and to “be smart” by getting the vaccine. Floor-to-ceiling print ads conspicuously wallpaper university corridors and call young women to learn and do Read the rest of this entry »

In a filing this week in federal court, officials said the city wanted to be compensated for the cost of treating Kulbir Dhaliwal, now 24, at the city-run San Francisco General Hospital after the attack.
The document, a medical reimbursement lien, was filed Wednesday in connection with proceedings in a federal lawsuit filed against the city and by Dhaliwal and his younger brother, Paul. That suit, filed in November, claims that the brothers were Read the rest of this entry »

Leeds full-back Brent Webb faces a World Cup fitness race after being named in New Zealand’s 24-man squad on Tuesday.
Both Webb and Steve Matai’s participation is in doubt after each suffered injuries towards the end of their respective NRL and Super League championship campaigns.
Matai, who celebrated his first NRL premiership success with Manly in Sunday’s 40-0 grand final romp over Melbourne, has ongoing neck and shoulder concerns, while Webb Read the rest of this entry »

LOS ANGELES—The former co-owner of a hospital was arrested Friday on charges stemming from a scheme to recruit homeless people for unnecessary medical treatment to collect millions of dollars from government health programs.
Robert Bourseau, the 74-year-old former chairman of City of Angels Medical Center, was arrested at his downtown home without incident, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Vince Farhat.
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted Read the rest of this entry »

“We’re not getting what we pay for,” says Denis Cortese, president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic. “It’s just that simple.”
“Our health-care system is fraught with waste,” says Gary Kaplan, chairman of Seattle’s cutting-edge Virginia Mason Medical Center. As much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent today does nothing to improve health, he says.
Not only is American health care inefficient and wasteful, says Kaiser Permanente chief executive Read the rest of this entry »

US Census Bureau released a report this week according to which only one in six people living in the US under the age of 65 had no health insurance in 2005.
The report was based on data from all states across gender, age and income gathered by the Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE), which is the only source for county-level estimates of health insurance coverage status.
The data helps analysts and policy makers to target outreach activities Read the rest of this entry »

Anytime Fitness has announced the opening of its 1,000th club.
Founded in 2002, Anytime Fitness now has clubs open in 46 states, Canada and Australia, serving nearly 600,000 members. One membership allows access to every club.
To celebrate the opening of its 1,000th club, Anytime Fitness is offering special deals for new members all at participating clubs, including the club in Fremont, the week of Feb. 9-15. Any new members will not have pay Read the rest of this entry »

$1,000
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> $120,000
$120,000
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$60,000
$55,000
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$45,000
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$12,000
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A cautionary tale, courtesy of
, for any governor who might soon US Senate vacancy in his state that he is solely responsible for filling.
The indictment, which outlines how Blagojevich sought to benefit financially in return for tapping the successor to Senator-turned-President-elect Barack Obama, makes for amazing reading. So,
. (Start on P. 54).
“Intercepted phone calls demonstrate that ROD BLAGOJEVICH, JOHN
HARRIS, and others have engaged Read the rest of this entry »