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28 Apr 2010 10:03

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Biz: Protip for WellPoint patients: Don’t get breast cancer before Friday

  • After much criticism, the insurer will back off of canceling policies after on May 1. After a Reuters feature put pressure on the massive insurer by noting many patients were getting their policies canceled almost immediately after getting breast cancer, Democrats put lots of pressure on them to change the policy. They would have had to change it anyway due to the new health care law, but the Democrats got them to change it early. The company claims “there have been a lot of misrepresentations and inaccuracies in recent days,” but the decision would help bring clarity to the company’s stance. Good move. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

23 Apr 2010 10:50

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Biz, U.S.: Washington hawking over WellPoint’s crappy insurance practices

  • As you know, the practice described in this article will soon be illegal. The Affordable Care Act specifically prohibits insurance companies from rescinding policies, except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact.
  • Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius • In a letter to health insurer WellPoint regarding a Reuters article that ran yesterday. The article suggested that breast cancer patients were specifically targeted in investigations in an effort to find a way to cancel their insurance. This crappy practice, by the way, is banned in the new health care law, but experts say the bill lacks the teeth to actually stop it. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Dec 2009 10:04

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Politics: Protip: Joe Lieberman’s wife has worked as a big health strategist

  • We are asking Ellen DeGeneres, Christie Brinkley and other high-profile celebrities who are associated with Komen to demand that no more money raised for cancer treatment be given to Hadassah Lieberman or any other ex-Pharma/Insurance strategists.
  • Firedoglake blog founder Jane Hamsher • On her group’s push to convince the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation to drop Hadassah Lieberman as a spokesperson. (The push has celebrity support, by the way.) Lieberman, whose husband Joe is the 60th vote on health care and appears to be stonewalling the effort, has been a consultant for companies such as Pfizer and ALCO – companies, ironically, that might not benefit from the passage of a health care bill. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Dec 2009 20:30

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Offbeat: What’s good for enlarged prostates is bad for male breast cancer

  • good A drug exists that helps males deal with enlarged prostates. 100,000 men in the U.K. take it to cause shrinkage.
  • bad This same drug also increases the chance for male breast cancer. There’s been 53 cases so far. Men get it too, remember. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Nov 2009 10:39

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U.S.: Cancer screening for the ladies just got a whole lot more lax

  • The government says that women need fewer mammograms and self-breast exams. People get angry and confused. source
  • The government says that women need fewer pap smears and cervical cancer tests. People get angry and confused – again. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2009 21:37

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U.S.: The government was just joshin’ you guys on mammograms

  • Our policies remain unchanged. Indeed, I would be very surprised if any private insurance company changed its mammography coverage decisions as a result of this action.
  • Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius • Trying to re-spin a report earlier this week that said women should be less vigilant about checking their boobs for breast cancer. In other words, a report came out that angered a lot of people, and they’re backtracking completely. This is amid speculation that the changes were put in place to help insurance companies. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2009 20:13

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Culture: Here’s what no more self-breast-exams is gonna cost us

  • Back in 1990, this was groundbreaking television. “Beverly Hills, 90210” tackled Brenda Walsh’s teen breast cancer scare – a tumor she found, by the way, after examining her own breast. Beyond adding to the obvious dangers of breast cancer – there’s a whole MONTH dedicated to it, for crying out loud – no more breast self-examinations means that the possibility of this scene happening in real life just went down significantly. Did the U.S. think of all the lives that could be saved, or even the amount of cheesy TV melodrama that could be created? Of course not. This is why experts are questioning the changes.source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Nov 2009 19:55

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U.S.: Breast cancer backstep: The U.S. flips the script on mammograms

  • 50 the new recommended age for women to start getting biannual mammograms (too many false positives) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Jun 2009 08:57

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Biz: An acquisition pays off in the form of a landmark cancer drug

  • $500 million The amount French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA paid for BiPar Sciences Inc. of San Francisco, which has just 18 employees source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2009 22:34

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Sports: Golfer Phil Mickelson’s taking a break for his wife’s sake

  • She was diagnosed with breast cancer. Amy Mickelson will need major surgery within two weeks, so Phil – the best non-Tiger-Woods golfer on the tour – is taking an indefinite break to be by her side. Many golfers had words of condolences for the family, from superstar Woods to laughingstock John Daly. Yes, even John Daly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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