A dispute between McDonald’s Corp. and the federal government over a new health care reform requirement is giving a peek into the potential complexities that the massive new law will have on companies. Get the full story »
Filed under: Health care
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McDonald’s threatens to drop hourly health plan
Workers at a McDonald's restaurant in Oak Brook. (Tribune photo by Terry Harris)
McDonald’s Corp. has warned federal regulators that it could drop its health insurance plan for nearly 30,000 hourly restaurant workers unless regulators waive a new requirement of the U.S. health overhaul. The move is one of the clearest indications that new rules may disrupt workers’ health plans as the law ripples through the real world. Get the full story »
Stericycle to pay $245M for healthcare waste firm
Medical waste disposal firm Stericycle, Inc said it has agreed to buy Healthcare Waste Solutions, Inc. for $245 million in cash.
Lake Forest-based Stericycle said Healthcare Waste “provides a resource management assessment and consulting program for all waste streams to healthcare providers.” Get the full story »
Sep. 29, 2010 at 2:32 p.m.
Filed under: Consumer news, Health care, Investigations, Litigation, Updated State fines unlicensed firms selling health insurance
The Illinois Department of Insurance said it has taken steps to prohibit several companies from “marketing and selling non-comprehensive health insurance” in the state without a license. Get the full story »
Sep. 24, 2010 at 5:19 p.m.
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Filed under: Chicago executives, Education, Health care, Personnel moves Northwestern Memorial’s Prentice obstetrics chair to resign
Dr. Sherman Elias, the top obstetrician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital’s Prentice Women’s Hospital, is resigning.
Elias, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, will resign at the end of the year after seven years, the medical school confirmed to the Tribune.
Elias’ departure is viewed as a surprise, according to sources inside the hospital and medical school. He could not be reached Friday evening for comment. Get the full story »
10% hikes seen in Medicare drug coverage next year
A new analysis of government data finds that millions of seniors face double-digit hikes in their Medicare prescription premiums next year unless they shop for cheaper coverage. Get the full story »
Premiums for Medicare Advantage drop 1%
Seniors enrolled in popular private health insurance plans through Medicare will pay a little less on average next year, the Obama administration said Tuesday.
The average monthly premium in so-called Medicare Advantage plans will dip to $35.69 in 2011, a 45-cent reduction from $36.14 this year, Medicare officials said.
Sep. 20, 2010 at 11:57 a.m.
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Filed under: Commercial real estate, Health care, Real estate Children’s taps U.S. Equities to sell Lincoln Park site
Children’s Memorial Hospital has hired Chicago-based commercial real estate firm U.S. Equities Realty to market the land and building at its current tony Lincoln Park location.
Calling it “one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the Midwest,” hospital officials are hoping the prime six-acre real estate site will fetch a large sum.
Hospital officials would not disclose or speculate on what the sale of the property may raise but it is certainly worth tens of millions of dollars even in the current down market for real estate, say Chicago real estate observers. Get the full story »
Pepperidge Farm to cut sodium in breads
Pepperidge Farm Inc. says it will cut the sodium levels in the majority its breads, rolls and bagels by 2011, making it the latest of many food makers to respond to demands for healthier products. A number of food makers have announced recently that they are lowering sodium in their products based on consumer demand and increasing scrutiny by health groups, including Kraft Foods, Bumble Bee Foods, General Mills Inc., and PepsiCo Inc.
Prescription business brisk in 2Q
Prescriptions increased in the second quarter for some of the largest U.S. drugstores and pharmacy benefits managers despite the weak economy, an analyst for Fitch Ratings said Friday.
Analyst Bob Kirby said prescriptions for Medco Health Solutions Inc. and Express Scripts Inc. and for the drugstores Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. rose 5.2 percent from a year earlier. Kirby said he expects similar growth for the rest of the year assuming economic conditions don’t change much. Get the full story »
FDA panel to make call on Meridia today
A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will decide Wednesday whether the diet drug Meridia will remain on the market amid calls that it be removed. And on Thursday, another drug, known as lorcaserin, is up before an advisory committee where its developer will face questions from panelists and a possible recommendation for agency approval.
TV ad blames McDonald’s for heart disease
Ad showing corpse holding a hamburger. (PCRM ad)
McDonald’s Corp. is the target of a new television commercial set to air in Washington, D.C., Thursday that blames the burger giant for heart disease.
In the commercial, produced by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a woman weeps over a dead man lying in a morgue. In his hand is a hamburger. At the end, the golden arches appear over his feet, followed by the words, “I was lovin’ it,” a play on McDonald’s longtime ad slogan, “I’m lovin’ it.” A voiceover says, “High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian.” Get the full story »
FDA may pull Abbott’s diet pill Meridia
Almost a year after studies showed the diet pill Meridia increases heart attack and stroke risk, U.S. health regulators announced they will consider pulling the Abbott Laboratories’ drug off the market.
Meridia has been sold since 1997, but data released in November showed patients with heart disease taking the drug had a more than 11 percent risk of cardiovascular risks compared with 10 percent of those taking a placebo. European regulators pulled the product off the market in January.
Aetna, Centene to put 40,000 in Medicaid HMO
The state of Illinois has awarded HMO operators Aetna Inc. and Centene Corp. contracts to provide medical care services to 40,000 seniors and adults with disabilities in suburban Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kankakee, Lake and Will counties beginning next year. Get the full story »
Sep. 9, 2010 at 7:44 a.m.
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Filed under: Chicago executives, Health care, Personnel moves Peter Butler named president of Rush
Long-time Rush University Medical Center executive Peter Butler was named president of the West Side academic medical center, the hospital’s top executive said. Get the full story »
