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| Data trove shows U.S. doctors reap millions from Medicare Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 09:07 PM PDT By Sharon Begley and M.B. Pell NEW YORK (Reuters) - In 2012, an enterprising ophthalmologist in south Florida received $20.8 million in Medicare payments, the highest amount the government health plan for the elderly paid an individual provider that year, according to a preliminary analysis of federal data. And a California laboratory apparently received $190 million, the most Medicare paid a single entity in 2012. After decades of litigation and over the strenuous objections of the American Medical Association, the leading U.S. doctors group, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday made public for the first time how much Medicare pays individual doctors. The massive data release, totaling nearly 10 million lines, also includes which medical services each of more than 880,000 physicians and other healthcare providers nationwide billed Medicare for in 2012. Full Story | Top |
| Olympus says six banks sue for 27.9 billion yen compensation over 2011 scandal Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 09:01 PM PDT  TOKYO (Reuters) - Olympus Corp said on Wednesday that six trust banks have filed a lawsuit against the medical equipment maker seeking 27.9 billion yen ($273 million) in compensation related to false financial statements on losses from fiscal year 2000 to 2011. The six trust banks include State Street Trust and Banking Co Ltd, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp and The Nomura Trust and Banking Co Ltd. ... Full Story | Top |
| Thorpe 'in good spirits' as he fights infection: manager Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 08:54 PM PDT  Australian swimming great Ian Thorpe is in "good spirits" in a Sydney hospital as he fights a serious infection and reports that he might lose the use of his arm are "nonsense", his manager said on Wednesday. The five-times Olympic champion, who retired after the Athens Olympics before making an unsuccessful comeback bid for the 2012 London Games, contracted the infection after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this year. "He's fine, he's a battler," James Erskine told Channel 9's Today program. "He's in good spirits, you know, he's got drips in, he's got antibiotics and all that sort of thing so he's not exactly going to swim in the Commonwealth Games tomorrow." Erskine said he was not sure how long Thorpe, who attended the wedding of Britain's Prince William in 2011 and might have been expected to catch up with the royal on the upcoming tour of Australia, would remain in hospital. Full Story | Top |
| China recruits 'guardian angels' to protect embattled doctors Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 07:59 PM PDT China's capital Beijing is taking a novel approach to protecting doctors from growing levels of violence from angry patients: volunteer "guardian angels". The campaign will recruit students, medical workers and other patients to act as middlemen between doctors and those in their care to defuse disagreements and smooth over tensions, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. Doctors in China have come under increasing threat as the country's healthcare system struggles to cope with low doctor numbers, poor levels of training and rampant corruption inflating the price of care. This has seen a number of fatal attacks by patients on doctors in the past year. Full Story | Top |
| Florida mayor, 93, loses run-off election for record 20th term Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 06:15 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A 93-year-old Florida man believed to be the oldest mayor in the U.S. lost his bid to be re-elected to a record 20th term in office on Tuesday. "We lost but we love all of you ... sorry that it didn't work out," John Land said at his campaign party. Land conceded based on word from a campaign supporter at the Orange County elections office before unofficial results were posted. Full Story | Top |
| Low-dose aspirin may prevent preeclampsia: panel Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 05:36 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Pregnant women at a high risk for the potentially fatal complication preeclampsia should take low-dose aspirin after their first trimester, according to a government-backed panel. The draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is based on a review of the evidence that found low-dose aspirin reduced the likelihood of developing the condition and its complications. "Low-dose aspirin - in looking at benefit - reduced the risk of preeclampsia by 24 percent," Jillian Henderson, the review's lead author, told Reuters Health. Henderson is a researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Full Story | Top |
| Untaxed U.S. corporate profits held overseas top $2.1 trillion: study Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 05:35 PM PDT  By Kevin Drawbaugh and Patrick Temple-West WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Foreign profits held overseas by U.S. corporations to avoid taxes at home nearly doubled from 2008 to 2013 to top $2.1 trillion, said a private research firm's report, prompting a call for reform by the Senate's top tax law writer. I do think there need to be some reforms in this area," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill. Under U.S. law, corporations do not have to pay income tax on most of their overseas profits until they are brought into the United States. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge questions SAC Capital plea pact ahead of sentencing Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:32 PM PDT  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Tuesday raised a series of questions about a proposed $1.2 billion insider trading accord with billionaire Steven Cohen's investment firm, formerly known as SAC Capital Advisors, in advance of its sentencing on Thursday. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan issued an order directing the parties to address how to calculate the proposed penalty and the qualifications of a newly appointed compliance consultant. The judge also asked if the government's conclusions about SAC Capital's profits and avoided losses take into account activities by "all culpable persons" or just the eight employees already convicted on insider trading charges. The order came ahead of a hearing Thursday in which Swain is expected to weigh whether to accept SAC Capital's November guilty plea to fraud charges and approve a fine of $900 million, part of a $1.2 billion deal unveiled last year. Full Story | Top |
| Toronto mayor meets with disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 03:14 PM PDT  Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who has admitted to smoking crack cocaine, on Tuesday hosted the disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson at his city hall office, with some media reports saying Johnson had joined his re-election campaign. In a video posted online by a Toronto Sun journalist, Ford said Johnson wanted to help the mayor get more votes in the October election. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. has not determined legal authority to delay Obamacare mandate Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:22 PM PDT  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. administration has not determined whether it has legal authority to delay Obamacare's individual mandate, which requires most Americans to enroll in health insurance or pay a tax penalty, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday. Mark Iwry, senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, told U.S. lawmakers the administration sees no reason for delay given that the law allows for exemptions and provides financial assistance for those unable to afford health coverage on their own. "If we don't believe that it is appropriate to be delaying that provision ... then we don't reach the question of whether we have legal authority," Iwry said in testimony before the Republican-controlled House Ways and Means Committee's Health subcommittee. The administration has delayed numerous segments of the 2010 law known as Obamacare during four years of implementation and continues to face speculation about possible new postponements for provisions, including the individual mandate. Full Story | Top |
| Stress hormone tied to crash risk among teens: study Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 02:07 PM PDT By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low levels of the hormone cortisol may identify teen drivers with a high likelihood of getting into car accidents, suggests a small new study. "The theory is that people who have a heightened emotional response to certain stimuli may use that emotion to learn more effectively," Dr. Dennis Durbin told Reuters Health. "It really supports some other existing literature both in driving and non-driving areas that this cortisol level may play some role in how we actively learn from our experiences," he said. Recent research has suggested that responses by the nervous system, such as cortisol production, may play an important role in crash risk. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street snaps three-day losing streak as tech rebounds Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 01:58 PM PDT  By Angela Moon NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, snapping a three-day losing streak as investors bought beaten-down social media and Internet shares. The day's biggest gainers included Amazon.com Inc , up 2.9 percent at $327.07; But gains in the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average were capped by a decline in bank stocks. Goldman Sachs Group fell 1.3 percent to end at $156.56. Full Story | Top |
| Probiotic may not help colic Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 01:35 PM PDT By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a large Australian trial of a popular type of "friendly bacteria," colicky babies given the probiotic product cried or fussed more than babies who were given placebo drops. Despite smaller studies in the past suggesting that Lactobacillus reuteri might ease babies' colic, the authors of the new research say the new findings don't support use of the probiotic for that purpose. "Probiotics should not be routinely recommended for all infants with colic because they are not effective for formula-fed babies with colic, and their effectiveness for breastfed babies with colic is uncertain," Dr. Valerie Sung told Reuters Health in an email. Sung is a pediatrician and researcher with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. Full Story | Top |
| Alkermes to seek schizophrenia drug approval after trial success Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:38 PM PDT Alkermes Plc said it planned to seek U.S. marketing approval for its experimental drug to treat the symptoms of schizophrenia after it succeeded in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares up as much as 11 percent. The company said it would apply for marketing approval for a monthly dose of the injectable drug, aripiprazole lauroxil, in the third quarter of 2014. "Once monthly or even less frequent dosing is key, since it increases compliance rates in schizophrenia, reduces relapse rates and hospitalization costs and provides costs savings to the healthcare system," Leerink Partners analyst Michael Schmidt said in an e-mail. Data from the late-stage study supported dosing of the drug once every two months, Chief Executive Richard Pops said on a conference call with analysts. Full Story | Top |
| Florida mayor, 93, in run-off election for record 20th term Tuesday, Apr 08, 2014 12:16 PM PDT By Barbara Liston ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Voters in a central Florida town will decide on Tuesday whether to re-elect their 93-year-old mayor for a record 20th term in office. Mayor John Land of Apopka, population 41,000, is facing opposition for the first time in a decade after finishing second in a four-way mayoral election in March. Research by the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, which covers Apopka, indicated Land is both the oldest U.S. mayor and Florida's longest-serving mayor. His opponent in the runoff election is longtime resident and former newspaper reporter Joe Kilsheimer who lead in March with 2,354 votes, or 48 percent of total votes cast. Full Story | Top |
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