EDMONTON – Negotiations for a new contract between Alberta’s nurses and their employer are off to a rocky start. The nurses union says in a release that the opening proposal from Alberta Health Services asks for cuts in salaries, benefits, safe-care provisions and scheduling protections. Heather Smith, president of the United Nurses of Alberta, says many of the rollbacks would erode standards of care, safety in the workplace and job security. Smith says the union is looking for more resources to fix a strained health-care system, and is seeking wage increases of four per cent. The...

Matthew Herper Americans spend billions on foods and supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids. Not all of it is money well spent. Fifty years ago, two Danish epidemiologists pondered why Greenland’s native Inuit could have a very low rate of heart attacks despite eating a high-fat diet full of whale and seal meat. They cobbled together $6,000, flew to Greenland and collected blood samples from 130 Inuit. The Greenlanders’ cholesterol numbers were good but not enough to explain the healthy hearts. Read More…

Tracy A. Jeffers The health care debate rages on, and it appears that the Democrats are going to use the parliamentary maneuver called reconciliation to pass the bill presently before Congress without any Republican votes. This is a health care bill that the majority of the American people clearly do not want. I honestly believe that all Americans are concerned with the number of people who have no insurance, me included. But they know what the government’s track record with running other programs is and they shudder to think of what this particular program could grow into and at what...

Americans can avoid income decline by spending less and earning more. Here’s how. By Trent Hamm On the conference call I had last night with Vicki Robin, one of the listeners (I believe his name was Crispin) brought up an interesting topic of conversation. In a world where globalization is a fact and many jobs can easily be moved anywhere in the world thanks to the power of the internet and the information economy, we’re gradually going to see a global marketplace. In other words, all of the nations of the world will gradually see their average standard of living even out, as many of the...

By Venessa Wong The Best by State Life with children is expensive, but in some places a dollar goes a lot further. Bloomberg BusinessWeek evaluated information provided by community data company OnBoard Informatics to determine the best affordable suburb in each state. While many of the places on this year’s list are near amenities such as country clubs and golf courses, the focus is not luxury, but rather communities where families can live well for less and enjoy good schools, low crime, and reasonable commutes. The selected suburbs were limited to towns within 25 miles of the most populated...

By Peter Orszag and Nancy-Ann DeParle Health-insurance reform offers many benefits, such as common-sense rules of the road and basic consumer protections to keep insurance companies honest and prevent them from denying coverage to anyone because of a preexisting medical condition. But some critics complain that the administration has slipped in its commitment to fiscal responsibility in health reform. Read More…

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Consumer advocates filed a class-action suit against Anthem Blue Cross on Monday, accusing California’s largest for-profit health insurer of illegally using drastic rate hikes to force customers into inferior health plans. The suit comes two days before top executives from several major U.S. health insurers, including Anthem’s parent company, WellPoint Inc. , were to meet in Washington with Obama administration officials to discuss escalating premiums. Anthem’s plan to boost its individual premiums by as much as 39 percent has spawned inquiries by...

Visitors to the UK could be required to hold health insurance before they can enter the country, the government says. The move is an attempt to crack down on “health tourists” who come for treatment but fail to pay for it. In a separate immigration review, the UK could also refuse entry to foreigners owing money for health care. Ministers said this would stop people from overseas taking advantage, but the Tories said Labour had allowed the problem to develop in the first place. Read More…

By John Whitesides and Donna Smith WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Democrats targeted health insurers and wary Republicans braced for a political showdown on Wednesday ahead of a White House summit that President Barack Obama hopes will spark momentum for a broad healthcare overhaul. Republicans questioned the motive for Thursday’s day-long summit and Democrats turned up the pressure on the health insurance industry with a hearing on a recent premium increase by insurer WellPoint Inc (WLP.N) and a planned House of Representatives vote on repealing its antitrust exemption. Read More…

Animal lovers are being forced to put down their pets amid rising veterinary bills, new research claims. By Andrew Hough More than half of Britain’s vets were forced to kill a pet cat or dog over the past five years because owners could not afford treatment, it said. Almost 90 per cent of vets across the country admitted they had experienced cases of treatment for animals being rejected by owners because it was too expensive. Read More…