Archive
Pentagon Health Plan Won't Cover Brain-Damage Therapy for Troops
The Pentagon’s health care program run by Tricare denies coverage of cognitive rehabilitation to troops with traumatic brain injuries, claiming the treatment does not meet their standards, despite medical groups’ consensus that it improves the quality of life and despite criticism of the study Tricare did to justify its position.
Drug Companies Retain Tight Control of Physicians’ Presentations
Drug companies keep strict control of materials doctors use in paid presentations about pharmaceuticals. The companies say this ensures that speakers comply with U.S. FDA regulations.
Med Schools Flunk at Keeping Faculty Off Pharma Speaking Circuit
Top U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals are failing to adequately enforce policies that prohibit or restrict faculty physicians from being paid by drug companies to give promotional speeches about their products.
Lack of Foreclosure Data Leaves Big Questions
The 35-year-old Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), is outdated in today’s mortgage environment. It doesn’t require reports on teaser rates, balloon payments, fees and penalties, or borrower attributes, such as first-time homebuyers, age and their debt level.
Tale of Three Cities: Foreclosures Don’t Always Follow the Script
In the conventional narrative of the foreclosure crisis, rapacious lenders hooked up with irresponsible buyers. But a Seattle Times-ProPublica analysis of foreclosures from three areas hit hard by the housing crash tells a more complex story. Some sold their home for more than they paid. Predatory loans terms weren’t as pervasive as believed. And much-needed data tracking foreclosures is insufficient or hidden.
Executive Order Suspending Fracking Brings Little Change
Gov. David Paterson recently issued an executive order suspending the approval of certain types of gas drilling permits. But his action did little to change the status quo, because the DEC had already stopped issuing such permits.
Fannie and Freddie’s Regulator Opposes Reducing Mortgages for Struggling Homeowners
The regulator for the government-controlled mortgage giants won’t let them trim loans for homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.
Survey Finds Banks Still Foreclose on Homeowners Seeking Loan Mods
A new survey say homeowners in the government's loan modification program are still being foreclosed on, despite it being against the rules.
Life and Death Choices as South Africans Ration Dialysis Care
In the United States, patients with kidney failure have access to life-saving dialysis treatments paid for by Medicare. But in less-affluent countries like South Africa, medical professionals rely on rationing. At Tygerberg Academic Hospital near Cape Town, a jury of doctors is making life-and-death choices based not only on a patient's medical condition but social factors such as living conditions and the patient's support network.
Find Homes With Tainted Drywall
When the Consumer Products Safety Commission provided data in October, the agency said it had received fewer than 3,500 reports of tainted drywall. ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune compiled a list of addresses from county property appraiser data and records in consolidated lawsuits filed in New Orleans federal court and found nearly twice that number: around 6,900 homes.
American-Made Drywall Emerges as Potential Danger
Thousands of Americans have houses contaminated by defective Chinese drywall; now a new group of homeowners say they are experiencing similar problems -- but their homes are built with drywall made in the United States.
What Are Alaska Native Corporations?
Questions and answers about Alaska Native Corporations
