Month: April 2013

The iPad didn’t exist until three years ago, so there is no hard data yet on the effects the device might have on a child’s development.

Uniform pricing accentuates products’ differences, which makes it harder to choose among them. Karen Hopkin reports.

By Keith Coffman CENTENNIAL, Colo. (Reuters) – Colorado prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the man charged with killing 12 moviegoers during a showing of the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" last year. District Attorney George Brauchler's formal call for the death penalty at a hearing on Monday came after his rejection last week of a defense suggestion that James Holmes would be willing to plead guilty in exchange for a life prison term without parole. …

(Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Monday it will increase the payment rate for health insurers that offer coverage through the Medicare Advantage program by 3.3 percent in 2014, boosting shares of Humana Inc by 8 percent after hours. Medicare Advantage plans provide care for seniors who select to receive their Medicare benefits through private insurance plans. On February 15, the government proposed a Medicare Advantage payment reduction of 2.3 percent. …

By Corrie MacLaggan AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas Governor Rick Perry on Monday firmly reiterated that the state will not expand its Medicaid program, saying it is a broken system that needs to be reformed by allowing states more flexibility. Perry, who notified the Obama administration last summer that his state would not expand Medicaid, was joined on Monday by other Texas Republican officials, including U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. …

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Employees offered financial incentives to lose weight may drop more pounds when they’re competing as part of a group of colleagues, a new study suggests. Researchers compared two incentive scenarios. Under one, employees got $100 for each month they met the goal of dropping at least one pound per week. Under the second scenario, $500 was set aside each month for a group of five co-workers and the ones who met their goal got to split the prize. …

Last week the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case about prescription drugs that involves a great deal of money—including yours.

By Genevra Pittman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Although many older patients in Canada have thought about end-of-life care and discussed it with family members, a new study suggests fewer have spoken with doctors and had their wishes noted accurately in their medical record. Many elderly people prefer to die at home instead of in the hospital – but that's not always the way it works out, researchers said. Dr. …

Arapahoe County, Colo., district attorney George H. Brauchler filed a notice on Monday that he would be seeking the death penalty for James Holmes, the man accused of killing a dozen people and injuring 58 more at a movie theater in Aurora last summer. Here are the details.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first of a new type of medication to treat type 2 diabetes. Nearly 26 million people have diabetes in the United States alone, and some 347 million people have the chronic disease worldwide, with type 2 diabetes being the most common form of the condition.