Daily Rounds: Steve Jobs' Dangerous Delay; Wal-Mart Health Cuts; Blue Cross $3 Refund; Nutrition Stars

Biographer: Jobs refused early and potentially life-saving surgery (CBS 60 Minutes) — Apple CEO Steve Jobs refused to allow surgeons to perform what could have been life-saving surgery on his pancreatic cancer, says his biographer Walter Isaacson. In one of his deepest discussions with him, Isaacson says Jobs told him he regretted his decision to try alternative therapies and said he put off the operation because it was too invasive...Asked by Kroft how such an intelligent man could make such a seemingly stupid decision, Isaacson replies, "I think that he kind of felt that if you ignore something, if you don't want something to exist, you can have magical thinking...we talked about this a lot," he tells Kroft. "He wanted to talk about it, how he regretted it....I think he felt he should have been operated on sooner." (CBS News)

Wal-Mart Cuts Some Health-Care Benefits (The New York Times) - "After trying to mollify its critics in recent years by offering better health care benefits to its employees, Wal-Mart is substantially rolling back coverage for part-time workers and significantly raising premiums for many full-time staff. A spokesman for Wal-Mart said the company had to revamp its health care offerings for workers because of rising costs." (nytimes.com. Listen to the Morning Edition story here.)

After Rich Severance Deal, Insurer iIssues Refunds (boston.com) - "State residents insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts have started receiving refunds stemming from the health plan’s decision to distribute a total of about $4.2 million to its members, an amount equivalent to the severance paid to its former chief executive, Cleve L. Killingsworth. But if policyholders expected to be taking a vacation with the money saved from their “premium credits,’’ they may want to set their sights on a latte, instead." (boston.com)

IOM: It's Time For Nutrition Label Stars (Food Safety News) - "If the government acts on a new set of recommendations from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), all packages will also have to display a standardized label telling consumers the food's actual health value. The IOM released a report Thursday showing the need for a universal, government-run labeling system that gives consumers a clearer picture of a product's nutritional value." (Food Safety News)