| Employee Benefit Costs Rise 6.3% in N.Y.
Large companies in New York are paying 6.3% more for employee health benefits than they did last year, shelling out an average of $8,730 for each employee this year. The increase is higher than the nationwide rise in employee health benefit costs, 5.1%, which represents an average of $8,229 in benefit costs for each employee, according to a survey released yesterday by the consulting firm, Mercer. According to the survey, health benefit costs are expected to increase another 7% in New York and 5.9% nationwide in 2008. In New York, 65% of employees are enrolled in preferred provider organizations, 19% in HMOs, 14% in point of service plans, 2% in traditional indemnity plans, and 3% in consumer-directed health plans, according to the Mercer survey.
Liver Health Improves after Bariatric Surgery
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Does bariatric surgery reverse the damaging effects on the liver caused by an excess of fat? The results of this study conducted at the University of Texas Medical Branch demonstrate the effects are reversed. This was not the case earlier in the history of this surgery according to the principal investigator on this study Dr. Raj Mummadi, "The overall liver health deteriorated of some patients who underwent the surgery in the past." Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in people who are obese and can progress to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is inflammation of the liver and often results in the need for a liver transplantation."Multiple studies and extensive data are available on the outcomes of other complications of obesity like diabetes and heart disease after weight loss surgery but clear-cut data is lacking on the outcome of a deadly complication like NASH," says Dr.
Tai chi classes are free in Fremont
Through the Fremont Adult School, instructor Sifu May Chen offers ongoing tai chi classes for adults of all skill levels. Great Outdoor Tai Chi classes are from 8 to 10:45 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the Senior Center, 40086 Paseo Padre Parkway, Fremont. 510-790-6602. Other classes at 4700 Calaveras Ave., Fremont: -Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Routine No. 24, 1 to 3 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. No class Nov. 19, 21; Dec. 24, 26 and 31. -Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan No. 42, 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Mondays. -Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan, 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 510-793-6465. Elephant Pharm Homeopath Myra Nissen gives tips on how to care for winter colds and flu from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday. All classes are free.
Waddell believes there's American revolution in hockey
Thrashers general manager Don Waddell is as passionate about USA Hockey as he is his team in Atlanta. So it's not surprising that he recently called Dallas center Mike Modano a great player and even better person. The two are friends, and Waddell has been following Modano's chase this week to become the record holder for career points by a U.S.-born hockey player. .
Coping with the feasting season
Components include going box and chef dave thanksgiving menu tips plus online link. By Brenda Wade Schmidt bschmidt@argusleader.com Make fruit your dessert.
That's a favorite tip of Chef Dave Fouts, who wants to help people get through the holidays - or any days - without gaining weight. "I don't sacrifice taste and flavor. I just try to use a more realistic approach," says the nationally known chef from Oklahoma who is speaking Nov. 19 in Sioux Falls.
Fouts, 35, had gastric bypass surgery nearly six years ago, dropping from 410 pounds to 180. He will speak and host a cooking show from 6-8 p.m. next week at Schroeder Auditorium at Sanford USD Medical Center. Afterward, he will sign his latest book, "Cook Wise with Chef Dave."
While Fouts has developed tasty and healthy "real food" recipes for folks who have had weight-loss surgery, his message is for anyone, he says.
Cosmetic surgery ABCs
The post-cosmetic surgery death last week of Donda West, mother of hip-hop star Kanye West, raised serious questions about what prospective plastic surgery patients can do to give themselves the best chance of a successful outcome. We spoke with Dr. Michael McGuire of Santa Monica to find out. McGuire is secretary of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, is on the board of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons. Where to begin? It's as simple as ABC, McGuire said. > A is for accredited surgery center. "It doesn't matter how good a surgeon is if the surgery center (where the procedure is being done) isn't safe and equipped," said McGuire. Check with the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (www.aaahc.org), the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (www.aaaasf.org) and the Joint Commission (www.jointcommission.org).
Letters to the Editor for Nov. 21
On Feb. 17, 2005, near El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean attempted to apprehend an illegal drug runner coming through our country.When he was stopped, he got out of his truck. The agents approached him at which time he threw dirt in one of their faces, then reached into his truck and turned with something shiny in his hand which later was discovered to be a cell phone. It could just as well have been a weapon. He then fled on foot. The agents fired their weapons at him, about 14 to 15 shots. Now, either the agents cannot shoot straight or they were only trying to scare him into stopping. Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila ended up with a bullet in his butt.Ramos and Compean had, until this incident, been exceptional agents for many years, blemish-free records both.
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