Daily Rounds: Mislabeled Fish; Medicare Sign-Up; Big Cancer Gene Study; 'Plug In The Dike'

On the menu, but not on your plate (Boston Globe) - "At Chau Chow Seafood Restaurant in Dorchester, the $23 flounder fillet turned out to be a Vietnamese catfish known as swai - nutritionally inferior and often priced under $4 a pound. Those were among the findings of a five-month Globe investigation into the mislabeling of fish. It showed that Massachusetts consumers routinely and unwittingly overpay for less desirable, sometimes undesirable, species - or buy seafood that is simply not what it is advertised to be. In many cases, the fish was caught thousands of miles away and frozen, not hauled in by local fishermen, as the menu claimed. It may be perfectly palatable - just not what the customer ordered. But sometimes mislabeled seafood can cause allergic reactions, violate dietary restrictions, or contain chemicals banned in the United States." (boston.com)

Medicare Enrollment Comes Sooner This Year (NPR - Shots) - "If you're a senior on Medicare — or an adult child responsible for a senior on Medicare — here's something you should know: The annual "open enrollment" period for joining or changing prescription drug or private health plans is already under way...But the new dates are only one of several changes Metcalf says Medicare enrollees need to be aware of for next year. Consumer Reports has a free guide to some of them. A key change she says consumers should be aware of during the open season is a new "star-based" quality rating, particularly for health plans." (NPR)

Vast Brigham, Dana-Farber Cancer Study (Boston Globe) — "Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have launched a massive study to test cancer patients’ tumors for hundreds of genetic aberrations in an effort to build a more comprehensive understanding of the underpinnings of cancer and how to tailor patients’ treatment." (boston.com)

'Plug In The Dike' — Limited Health Plans Considered (Worcester Telegram & Gazette WORCESTER — "The strangest thing happened at Polar Beverages recently: The cost to provide health insurance to the company's 1,600 workers went down. “We put a plug in the dike,” said Christopher J. Crowley, executive vice president of the privately held company. That “plug” in the rushing torrent of escalating health insurance prices is a relatively new kind of health plan that limits patients to specific doctors, medical providers and hospitals. Known as limited-network and tiered-network health plans, they offer insurance customers a chance to rein in spending by avoiding the priciest places for care. Yet employers, many of whom contribute substantial sums of money toward health coverage for their workers, haven't jumped at the plans, at least not yet, according to some local brokers." (Worcester T&G)