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Health Inc. : Shots - Health News As spending on care rises, the business of health keeps getting more important. We feature news on and analysis of drugmakers, health insurers, hospitals, doctors and others in the business of providing health care.

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Wednesday March 31, 2010

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Pfizer Posts Payments To Doctors Online

March 31, 2010 • During the second half of 2009, Pfizer paid about 4,500 doctors and other health care professionals $35 million for consulting services and speaking gigs.

Antibiotic Info Raises 'Fail Whale' On Twitter

Twitter's 'Fail Whale,' a sign the messaging system isn't working, could also apply to the quality of some of the health information there. Twitter hide caption

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Twitter

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Antibiotic Info Raises 'Fail Whale' On Twitter

March 31, 2010 • An analysis of tweets mentioning antibiotics found lots of misinformation about use of the drugs to treat viral infections, like colds and flu.

Tuesday March 30, 2010

Sebelius To Insurers: Cover Kids, Or Else

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Sebelius To Insurers: Cover Kids, Or Else

March 30, 2010 • Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told insurers she is getting regulations ready to make clear that under the new health law insurers cannot deny children care because of preexisting conditions. The head of an insurance trade g...

Thursday March 25, 2010

Buyout Firm Snapping Up Catholic Hospitals In Massachusetts

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Buyout Firm Snapping Up Catholic Hospitals In Massachusetts

March 25, 2010 • Why would a nonprofit chain of six hospitals sell itself to Cerberus Capital, a decidedly for-profit investment house named for a mythical three-headed dog guarding Hades? Money.

Friday March 19, 2010

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Here's How Much Money Your Hospital Could Get For Computerizing Records

March 19, 2010 • Beginning next year, loads of federal stimulus money will flow to doctors and hospitals to help them buy systems for electronic medical records. Now there's an online calculator you can use to estimate how much your local hospital would be eligibl...

Tuesday March 16, 2010

As Medicare Pay Shrinks, Some California Docs Hike Patient Fees

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As Medicare Pay Shrinks, Some California Docs Hike Patient Fees

March 16, 2010 • A California cardiology group is adding annual patient fees for ancillary services to make up for steep Medicare cuts. It's a unusually vivid instance of how costs are shifted within the health system when a source of funding shrinks.

Friday March 12, 2010

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Federal Court: Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

March 12, 2010 • The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has rejected claims in three test cases that tried to show that vaccines preserved with thimerosal contributed to the development of autism.

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FDA Warns Plavix May Be Ineffective In Some People

March 12, 2010 • People with a weak liver enzyme don't get the blood-thinning benefit of Plavix. Chinese are the most like to have the problem.

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California Settlements Haven't Helped Many Dropped By Insurers

March 12, 2010 • Only a few hundred people of some 6,000 whose health coverage was rescinded on technicalities have picked up coverage under settlements reached last year. The result is "highly disappointing," says an independent report.

Thursday March 11, 2010

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FDA Says Company Knowingly Shipped Tainted Food Additive

March 11, 2010 • An FDA inspection of a factory at the center of a wide-ranging food recall found evidence that a tainted flavoring ingredient was shipped even after company tests detected trouble.

Wednesday March 10, 2010

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Sebelius Challenges Insurers To Support Health Overhaul

March 10, 2010 • Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said insurers should drop their opposition to health overhaul and instead help fix a broken system, marked by spiraling costs and a lack of consumer choice.

Tuesday March 9, 2010

Consumer Group Gives Food Advertisers An 'F' On Kids

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Consumer Group Gives Food Advertisers An 'F' On Kids

March 9, 2010 • The Center for Science in the Public Interest gave most companies failing grades for the way they market food to kids. The group called for a uniform set of rules to govern the activity.

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Protesters, Including 'Vampire Squid,' Picket Health Insurers' Confab

March 9, 2010 • Demonstrators flocked to a meeting of insurance executives in Washington, D.C., to press the case for health overhaul. Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean challenged Congress to put legislation to a decisive vote.

Protesters, Including 'Vampire Squid,' Picket Health Insurers' Confab

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Monday March 8, 2010

Obama Stumps For Health Overhaul, Ripping Insurers

President Obama talks up health overhaul at Arcadia University, Monday, March 8, 2010. Charles Dharapak/AP hide caption

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Charles Dharapak/AP

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Obama Stumps For Health Overhaul, Ripping Insurers

March 8, 2010 • Runaway rate increases for health coverage provided familiar applause lines in a speech President Obama gave at a college outside Philadelphia Monday.

Thursday March 4, 2010

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Sebelius Talks Tough Before Insurance Meeting

March 4, 2010 • The secretary of Health and Human Services called recent insurance rate hikes "jaw-dropping." She said she was looking forward to a meeting with insurance executives to talk about them.

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