An estimated 90 percent of hospital bills contain billing errors, costing the average patient $1,300.

(bankrate.com) American hospitals are fleecing patients out of billions of dollars annually, and experts say that while some of the overcharges are honest errors, many are deliberate.
That’s because hospital bills are next to impossible for consumers to understand, which means hospitals can hide improper charges behind mysterious medical terminology and baffling codes.

Read Full Story: 10 ways to avoid outrageous hospital overcharges

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(msn.com) Add it up: cigarettes, dry cleaning, insurance, breath mints. And the toll doesn’t stop there — it could even cost you your job.

If the threat of cancer can’t convince you to quit smoking, maybe the prospect of poverty will.

The financial consequences of lighting up stretch far beyond the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance and lose money on the resale value of their cars and homes. They spend extra on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning. Long term, they earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits. And now, being a smoker can not only mean you don’t get hired — you can get fired, too: Weyco Inc., a medical benefits administrator in Okemos, Mich., after announcing it would no longer employ smokers, fired four employees who refused to submit to a breath test.

Read Full Story: The high cost of smoking

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(msn.com) Have you ever wondered why your teeth chatter when you’re cold, or if you could really catch a disease from sitting on a toilet seat?
New York physician Billy Goldberg, pestered by unusual questions at cocktail parties and other social gatherings over the years, puts the public’s mind at ease in his book “Why Do Men Have Nipples?”

Read Full Story: New book answers why men have nipples - More Health News - MSNBC.com

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(chicagotribune.com) Cell-phone users are asked to program into their phones the names and numbers of people they want contacted preceded by the acronym I.C.E., for “in case of emergency.” That way, if paramedics and emergency personnel locate a cell phone, they can contact someone right away.

Read Full Story: Chicago Tribune | I.C.E. your cell, police say

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(Family.org) The Breastfeeding Promotion Act would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to extend protections to breastfeeding mothers. It would also provide tax incentives for businesses that establish private lactation areas in the workplace, and offer families a tax deduction for equipment to assist in breastfeeding.

Read Full Story: New Bill to Promote Breastfeeding

More from Congresswoman Maloney: A Mother’s Day Present for New Mothers

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I heard about this the other day on Clark Howard’s radio show. I also have included the Consumer Reports article below.

Have you heard of “ionizing air cleaners?” They are supposed to clean the air of contaminants, such as ozone, and make it easier for people with lung ailments and asthma to breathe. But a recent report shows that these machines may actually cause more problems than they can solve. In fact, Consumer Reports labeled five of these very expensive products as “Not recommended.” It’s extremely unusual for CR to specifically label a product that way. So, it’s clear that most of these air cleaners don’t work and could cause you harm.

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