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Daily Rounds: Health Fraud Revealed; Men Avoid Docs; Radiation Monitoring Intensifies; Older Anorexics

"Fraud contaminating free health-care pool - BostonHerald.com Gaping loopholes in the program that covers poor uninsured Bay Staters have cost taxpayers tens of millions in bogus claims from out-of-staters and foreigners —not to mention gynecological bills for men and foot X-rays for headaches, according to the commonwealth’s inspector general. “We’re finding overpayments, double payments and medically unnecessary payments,” Massachusetts Inspector General Gregory Sullivan said of his office’s scathing review of the state’s so-called Uncompensated Care Pool obtained by the Herald." (Boston Herald)

Study: Half of men don't have a doctor - USATODAY.com "About half of men ages 18 to 50 don't have a primary-care physician, and a third haven't had a checkup in more than a year, a new survey shows.In fact, about 40% of men in their 40s have never had their cholesterol tested, and 70% have never had a prostate exam, according the national survey of 519 men, commissioned by Esquire magazine (esquire.com). "It's a stereotype about men that they don't like to go to the doctor, that they'd rather just go when there's a problem," says Ryan D'Agostino, articles editor for the magazine." (USA Today)

State steps up monitoring after radioactivity found in rainwater - The Boston Globe "The concentration of radioiodine found in the rainwater sample was 79 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). Auerbach said that hypothetically, even if someone drank the rainwater directly, “it is still 25 times less risky than it would need to be in order to cause any kind of health concerns . . . . And that is even true for the population that would be the most vulnerable, such as pregnant women, breast-feeding women, and infants.’’ (boston.com)

Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Affect Older Generation Too - NYTimes.com "Experts say that while eating disorders are first diagnosed mainly in young people, more and more women are showing up at their clinics in midlife or even older. Some had eating disorders early in life and have relapsed, but a significant minority first develop symptoms in middle age. (Women with such disorders outnumber men by 10 to 1.)" (well.blogs.nytimes.com)

This program aired on March 29, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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