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Daily Rounds: Partners-Blue Cross Deal; HPV Fact-Check; 'Baby Industry' Debate; Lipo Deaths

Insurer in deal to curb its rates - Metro - The Boston Globe "Partners HealthCare System Inc. is close to reaching an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts that could provide relief to tens of thousands of insurance customers by slowing the rate of their premium increases, potentially by nearly a quarter of a billion dollars.  Employers and individuals who buy Blue Cross insurance covering Partners hospitals would still pay more under the proposed contract, but the increases would not be as much as they would have been otherwise." (bostonglobe.com)

Pediatricians Fact-Check Bachmann's Bashing of HPV Vaccine : Shots - Health Blog : NPR "Now the nation's pediatricians have waded deep and early into the race for the presidency. In an unusual instance of political fact-checking of a candidate's statements by physicians themselves, the American Academy of Pediatrics has a tough prescription for Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann: Get your facts straight on the HPV vaccine." (npr.org)

Making Laws About Making Babies - Room for Debate - NYTimes.com  "The fertility industry in the United States is largely unregulated. This lets consumers and business people dictate what is acceptable, what is normal and what is allowable — including the extreme cases like the one sperm donor who had 150 children. Are such situations a problem? Many other nations, like Britain, regulate the fertility industry more closely. Should the U.S. emulate them?" (nytimes.com)

Lack of training can be deadly in cosmetic surgery – USATODAY.com "Her husband says he loved her the way she was, but Kellee Lee-Howard wanted a trimmer body. So she went to a clinic for "minimally invasive" liposuction. James Howard woke up on Valentine's Day 2010 to find his wife lying dead on the living room couch. Along with her husband, Lee-Howard, 32, left behind six children — ages 3 to 14 — and a trail of questions about the doctor here who isn't board certified in any medical specialty but performed a type of liposuction he trademarked and has been teaching other non-plastic-surgeons across the country." (USA Today)

Column: Drug shortage: What can I do? – USATODAY.com "After a sleepless night, I went in for my regularly scheduled appointment not knowing whether I would receive the drug. Based on the protocol the doctors had established, I was told I would receive one of the doses of paclitaxel they had left. At first, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. But my relief was immediately replaced with guilt and sadness. I couldn't stop wondering, if I am getting the drug, who isn't?"(USA Today)

This program aired on September 14, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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