Current Events in December 2009

By Fred Cicetti

December 4, 2009
Q. I've been having a lot of gas recently. In addition, I've been getting sores in my mouth. Any ideas about what's causing this?

I receive many questions from readers looking for help in diagnosing their health problems. I'm extremely careful to avoid giving personal medical advice. I'm a journalist who provides general information about health. Only a doctor who has examined a patient is qualified to diagnose, and even the experts have trouble figuring out what's wrong with patients.

Here's an example of a problem that exemplifies the difficulty of diagnosis. The following are symptoms of a common disease you may never have heard of. Some of the symptoms contradict each other. Here goes:

Gas, abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, constipation, pale stool, weight loss, weight gain, fatigue, unexplained anemia, bone or joint pain, osteoporosis, behavioral changes, tingling numbness in the legs, muscle cramps, seizures, missed menstrual periods, infertility, recurrent miscarriage, delayed growth, mouth sores, tooth discoloration and itchy skin rash.

These are symptoms of celiac disease, a digestive ailment that damages the small intestine and interferes with nutrition. People with celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is in wheat, rye, and barley. There is a scientific debate about gluten and oats.

Celiac disease is commonly underdiagnosed because some of its symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. Celiac disease often is confused with irritable bowel syndrome, iron-deficiency anemia, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, intestinal infections, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

There are other reasons for the underdiagnosis of celiac disease. Many doctors and healthcare professionals are not knowledgeable about the disease. And only a small number of U.S. laboratories are experienced and skilled in testing for celiac disease.

It's estimated that about 1 in 133 people in the United States has celiac disease. However, Americans are not routinely screened for celiac disease. More research is required to determine an accurate number of the people with celiac disease in the USA.

Celiac disease runs in families. Sometimes celiac begins after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection, or severe emotional stress. Some people develop symptoms as children, others as adults. Although celiac disease can affect anyone, it tends to be more common in people of European descent.

A person with celiac disease may have no symptoms. People without symptoms are still at risk. The longer a person is not treated for the disease, the greater the chance of developing malnutrition and other complications such as loss of calcium and bone density, intolerance to dairy products, cancer and disorders of the nervous system.

The only treatment for celiac disease is to follow a gluten-free diet. For most people, following this diet will stop symptoms, heal existing intestinal damage, and prevent further damage.

The obvious foods with gluten are breads, pastas, and cereals. But, gluten is also in many processed foods such as frozen French-fried potatoes and soy sauce. Many products such as cosmetics, household cleansers, stamp and envelope adhesive, medicines and vitamins contain gluten.

There are gluten-free substitutes for many problematic foods. Many cities have specialty grocery stores that sell these gluten-free substitutes.

If you notice or experience any of the signs or symptoms common to celiac disease, see your doctor.

All Rights Reserved © 2009 by Fred Cicetti

December 4, 2009
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has charged several price-comparison Web sites with unlawfully misleading online shoppers about the quality of certain Internet merchants, accusing them of what amounts to a cash-for-ratings scheme.

While the defendants promised independent, reliable Web site comparisons, state investigators uncovered a cash-for-ratings scheme in which certain online retailers paid for higher rankings.

According to court documents filed in two separate state enforcement actions, the defendants price-comparison listings misled potential shoppers about certain merchants reliability and trustworthiness. And while one defendants Web sites represented themselves as neutral and unbiased, online merchants paid that defendant to render higher ratings.

Abbott's office has filed an enforcement action against Intercept, L.L.C., which operates several price-comparison sites, including: Shopcartusa.com, Diduprice.com, Flyingprices.com, Digitalsaver.com and Pricingdepot.com. That legal action led to an agreed judgment under which Intercept promised to correct its unlawful practices and either pay a $300,000 civil penalty or cease doing business.

When their sites were checked today, Flyingprices.com, Shopcartusa.com, Flyingprices.com, Diduprice.com and Digitalsaver.com had suspended operations. Pricingdepot.com was displaying a "parked domain" page consisting of links that lead to advertisements for various products.

Everyprice.com

A separate enforcement action named Everyprice.com Inc., which operates the Web sites Everyprice.com and Lowpricedigital.com, for similar infractions. The defendants Web sites appeared to allow visitors to comparison shop and therefore find the best deals by using a single Web page to search for a product and obtain results from multiple merchants.

Those two sites were also inactive when last checked. they both displayed "under construction" banners.

"Online shoppers need to know that the Office of the Attorney General has charged multiple Web sites with unlawfully promising unbiased rankings while secretly accepting undisclosed payments for inflating sellers online ratings," Abbott said. So Texans should be wary and carefully consider their sources, because some Web sites may not be providing the unbiased ratings they promise.

Although Everyprice.com held itself out as an unbiased, honest broker, its Web sites secretly steered shoppers toward certain merchants and did not disclose that the merchants were paying for favorable treatment, Abbott charged. Thus, online shoppers who encountered vendors with trusted sellers, quality sellers or recommended merchants designations were not properly informed that the favorable labels were purchased rather than earned.

According to state investigators, Everyprice.com was not only paid for high ratings, but it allowed questionable merchants to create their own specialized endorsements for an additional fee. And although Intercept received numerous customer complaints about specific endorsed merchants, the defendant continued to rate them as top sellers that offered the lowest legitimate prices.

Customer complaints obtained by the Office of the Attorney General indicate that Everyprice.coms highly rated merchants used bait-and-switch tactics to persuade customers to purchase more expensive products than they desired. Other complaints highlighted Everyprice.coms deceptively impressive five-star rating, which merely required industry-standard privacy policies and product disclosures such as whether an item was new or refurbished. The defendants used Google, Yahoo and MSN to advertise its Web sites worldwide.

The states enforcement action against Everyprice.com seeks civil penalties of up to $20,000 per violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, plus appropriate attorneys fees. The state also seeks restitution where necessary to address financial injury to the Web sites users.

A large, long-term Scandinavian study has found no evidence that increased use of cell phones over a nine-year period led to more cases of brain cancer. The study tracked 16 million people in Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden from 1974 to 2003.

The four Scandinavian countries have had a mobile phone network since 1981, two years before the service launched in the U.S.

Of the 16 million, 60,000 developed brain tumors, a rate that is not considered above average, according to an article in the Dec. 16 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. If cell phones were a significant cause of brain tumors, the national registries in the four countries should have shown an increased incidence.

The lack of any such signal in the registry data "is consistent with mobile phone use having no observable effect on brain tumor incidence in this period," the researchers wrote.

"If there was a connection we would have expected a sudden marked increase in the rates, especially among younger males, which were the first to start using mobile phones. And we don't see that," said Prof. Isabelle Deltour of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology at the Danish Cancer Society in Copenhagen.

However, the researchers cautioned that there are several possible explanations for their findings:

• The period needed for cell phones to cause brain tumours was longer than the period studied;
• The increased risk in this population is too small to be observed;
• The increased risk is restricted to just certain cell phone users;
• There is no increased risk at all.

Other scientists not involved in the study also counseled caution.

"I don't think five to 10 years does cover it," David Carpenter, a professor of environmental health sciences and biomedical sciences at the University at Albany, State University of New York, told Scientific American. "Brain cancers are slow growing, so the idea that you would be able to detect something after five years would be surprising," he says. "Time will tell, but likely the biggest increase will be after 20 years."

Carpenter was among researchers from 14 countries endorsing a report issued in August that advocated greater caution in the use of cellular technology.

That report -- "Cell Phones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern" -- cautions that studies not financed or influenced by the telecommunications industry "consistently show there is a 'significant' risk of brain tumors from cell phone use."

Better diagnosis?

Other studies, including a meta-analysis released in October, have suggested link but the authors of the Scandanavian study said that findings of increased brain cancer rates may simply reflect an increase in diagnoses from new imaging technologies.

Deltour and her colleagues cautioned that cell phone use could have risks for the heaviest users or for rarer tumor types. Additionally, if the induction period for tumors associated with cell phones is longer than 10 years, longer follow-up would be needed to detect it.

The researchers recommended continued study of population trends because of the enormous exposure to cell phones worldwide. The World Health Organization is expected to soon release results of a long-term study that reportedly shows a link between cell-phone use and brain cancer.

The study was funded by the Danish Strategic Research Council.

Wal-Mart has agreed to pay $40 million to tens of thousands of current and former employees, bringing an end to a years-old Massachusetts class action that accused the retailing giant of cheating workers out of overtime and meal breaks.

The settlement, the largest in Massachusetts history, will be disbursed to over 85,000 current and former employees. Under the terms of the agreement, anyone who has worked for Walmart at any time since August 1995 will receive a portion of the settlement.

Payments will range from $400 to $2,500, depending on how long the employee was with the company. The average employee will receive around $750.

The suit, filed in Massachusetts in 2001, accused Walmart of denying workers rest and meal breaks, and of forcing employees to work beyond their scheduled shifts without paying them overtime. The complaint was filed on behalf of Elaine Polion and Crystal Salvas, who have long since left the company. The incidents at issue are hardly unique; Walmart has faced a number of similar suits over the past few years.

Last December, the retail giant agreed to pay up to $640 million to settle an eye-popping 63 class action lawsuits alleging labor law violations similar to those in Polion and Salvas's suit. That settlement closed out cases in various state courts and a federal court in Nevada. Last month, U.S. District Judge Philip Pro approved an $85 million final settlement for the Nevada action.

Carolyn Beasley Burton, the plaintiffs' attorney in that action, said that the settlement would yield between $150 and $1,000 for hundreds of thousands of employees. Wal-Mart general counsel Tom Mars said that the suits were several years old and that their allegations "are not representative of the company we are today."

Even so, the flood of settlements does little to mitigate Wal-Mart's image among its critics as a soulless corporate behemoth, although the company probably doesn't much care. Wal-Mart is the world's largest public corporation by revenue, and the United States's largest private employer and grocery retailer. Its massive size gives it the freedom to cut corners without exposing itself to much financial liability.

In the 2008 settlement, for example, even a $640 million payment -- the largest permissible would comprise less than 0.1 percent of the company's revenue for that year alone.

Wal-Mart, whose long-standing slogan "Always Low Prices" was finally shelved in 2007, has fared relatively well in spite of the recession, with stocks rising 20 percent in 2008 as shoppers tightened their belts. Chief Financial Officer Tom Schoewe said last December that Wal-Mart's "balance sheet is stronger today than it was a year ago."

But some say the lawsuit will send a stronger message. "For many employers, this settlement will serve as a reminder to take the payment of earned wages and benefits seriously," wrote Philip Gordon of the Gordon Law Firm. "For many other employers, it will provide comfort that all Massachusetts businesses must operate on a level playing field."

December 4, 2009
The nation's retailers are stepping up their campaign against credit card interchange fees, claiming they don't punish merchants nearly as much as they punish consumers.

An interchange fee is the fee paid by the merchant's bank to the bank issuing the consumer's credit card. The fee is charged back to the merchant and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), a trade group, says the fee is ultimately paid by the consumer.

In the wake of credit card reform, interchange fees have come under closer scrutiny in Washington. Last month the Government Accountability Office issued a report suggesting that credit card companies and their issuing banks profit significantly from interchange fees while merchants and consumers face escalating costs.

Since then the RILA has pushed for Congress to take action, as it did with the new law passed in May to limit credit card abuses. The American Consumer Institute is also calling for reform of interchange fees, claiming that this holiday season the average household will pay $337 in so-called swipe fees.

RILA says the burden posed by interchange fees is a drag on business and is making a slow jobs recovery even worse, at least as far as the retail sector is concerned.

"Retail job creation is stifled in part by the rapidly escalating costs associated with credit card interchange 'swipe' fees," said John Emling, senior vice president of government affairs for the group. "Every additional dollar taken by banks through these excessive fees is a dollar unavailable to hire new employees and lower costs for customers."

Banks say interchange fees are necessary to pay for processing credit and debit card transactions. However, RILA says these fees have tripled in the U.S. since 2001, to $48 billion in 2008, despite advances in technology that have reduced other comparable transactional costs. Today, the group says retailers' cost of processing paper checks is less than the cost of accepting credit and debit cards.

The issue has, to date, failed to gain much traction in Congress. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) introduced the "Credit Card Fair Fee Act of 2008," which would have required lenders possessing "substantial market power" to negotiate with merchants and retailers on terms for fees paid when processing card transactions. However, the bill failed to make it to the floor for a vote.

Responding to complaints about unauthorized credit card charges, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is asking credit card companies what they know about the practice.

In a letter to Visa, American Express and Mastercard, Rockefeller said aggressive online sales tactics often end up with consumer's credit cards charged for unwanted club memberships.

Rockefeller says millions of online consumers have been enrolled in these membership clubs and their credit card or debit cards have been charged even though they never provided the companies with their credit card or debit card numbers.

"There are more than 4 million American consumers whose credit cards are being charged by mysterious membership clubs after shopping online and most of these four million consumers don't even know it's happening," Rockefeller said.

Rockefeller sent the letters after a Commerce Committee staff report and hearing showed that a key component of the aggressive online sales tactics is the use of a so-called "data pass" process, which enables websites to transfer consumers' billing information, including consumers' credit or debit card numbers, to the companies selling the club membership.

Data pass

Rockefeller maintains "data pass" has allowed these companies to present misleading enrollment offers to consumers, has led to significant consumer confusion, and has caused millions of American consumers to become enrolled and charged for membership clubs they did not want and were unaware they had signed up for.

"Through the Committee's investigation, we learned these online club scams have made more than $1.4 billion dollars through these tactics and charged more than 30 million Americans," Rockefeller said. "This next step in our investigation will help us better understand how millions of American consumers' credit card accounts can be charged every month for services they don't want."

One membership marketer responded to Rockefeller's assertion by saying enrolling in its programs requires more than a simple mouse click. In a statement, Webloyalty.com said it requires consumers to enter the last four digits of their credit card, confirm their email address, and click on a button to confirm the sale.

Over the years, ConsumerAffairs.com has received hundreds of complaints from consumers who express bewilderment and anger at being signed up for membership programs, providing discounts on travel, entertainment and other expenses. The mysterious charges usually coincide with a credit card purchase made with another company.

The letters Rockefeller sent to Visa, American Express, and MasterCard request information related to cardholder inquiries about unauthorized charges stemming from "data pass" and any efforts made by the companies to reduce the number of "chargeback" requests from cardholders. Visa, American Express, and MasterCard have likely processed millions of charges for membership clubs that were not authorized by cardholders, Rockefeller said.

The next big mega-merger between media companies seems poised to go forward, with Comcast officially taking a 51 percent stake in NBC-Universal from its longtime corporate parent General Electric, creating an entertainment giant with an estimated value of nearly $44 billion, control of nearly 82 percent of the American cable landscape, and a dizzying array of TV options, including a majority stake in popular online TV portal Hulu.

"Combining the assets of NBCU, ranging from our suite of cable properties and two broadcast networks to a legendary film studio and global theme park business, with the content assets and resources of Comcast, will enable us to continue to thrive in an ever-changing media landscape," said NBC-Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said that "Todays announced transaction will increase our capabilities in content and cable networks. At the same time, it will enhance consumer choice and accelerate the development of new digital products and services."

But several consumer groups are voicing their opposition to the merger, claiming it may violate antitrust laws and deprive consumers of competition for their entertainment dollar.

Free Press and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) jointly released a report today claiming that the Comcast-NBC merger posed a "major threat to video competition that antitrust authorities cannot ignore."

According to CFA's Mark Cooper, "This mergers potential to foreclose competition and stifle innovation is significant and real."

"Just say no"

According to the groups' analysis:

• A merged Comcast-NBC would be able to sidestep negotiating costs of purchasing shows from content providers to broadcast on networks, since it would have control of dozens of cable and broadcast networks, ranging from the SyFy channel and USA Networks to G4, CNBC, MSNBC, and Telemundo. It would simply "pay itself" to broadcast content from networks it owns, while charging competitors such as DirecTV and Verizon FIOS exorbitant rates to share the same content.

• Comcast, already the nation's leading broadband Internet service provider, might accelerate NBC's stated desire to move more online TV content behind "paywalls," where users would have to pay monthly subscription fees to access the content. Hulu, currently free in the United States, has been rumored to be placed behind a paywall sometime in 2010, and Comcast has already experimented with tying paid cable subscriptions to online content hidden behind paywalls via its "TV Everywhere" online portal.

• A merged Comcast-NBC would not only be the dominant cable and broadcast player in multiple regions across the country, but could trigger a wave of more mergers as competitors struggle to gather assets in order to stay in the game. The result, the groups say, could lead to more media consolidation and less competition and choice for consumers.

"[The Obama administration] can't ignore the severe threat this merger poses and must take the necessary measures to prevent harm to competition and consumers," said Free Press' policy counsel Corie Wright. "The correct response to this merger is to just say no."

Done deal?

Wall Street was pleased with the formal acquisition of NBC, giving Comcast shares a substantial boost after the merger was announced. Comcast, for its part, promised the merged entity would do nothing to violate antitrust laws or reduce competition, and would engage in voluntary initiatives to ease the concerns of federal regulators.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one of the many federal agencies that has oversight of the merger, released a terse statement today, where it promised to "carefully examine the proposed merger and will be thorough, fair, and fact-based in its review."

The FCC and Comcast are currently engaged over the cable giant's blocking of content via "throttling" users' usage of the popular BitTorrent file-sharing engine. The FCC had ruled that it had jurisidiction over Comcast's actions and that it should be penalized for blocking users' Internet access. Comcast is currently appealing the ruling.

Some members of Congress aren't waiting for the FCC or other agencies to issue rulings on the merger. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on antitrust issues, wasted no time calling for a full hearing on the potential effects of the merger.

""This acquisition will create waves throughout the media and entertainment marketplace and we don't know where the ripples will end," Kohl said. "Antitrust regulators must ensure that all content providers are treated fairly on the Comcast platform, and that Comcast does not get undue advantages in gaining access to programming."

Kohl's counterpart in the House, Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI), stated that his committee would hold hearings on the prospective antitrust issues surrounding the Comcast-NBC-Universal combination. House Energy & Commerce Committee chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) also promised vigorous investigation of whether or not the deal could restrict video content distribution across multiple platforms.

Between the many agencies jockeying for jurisdiction on the issue, the complex issues of distribution and programming at stake, and the promise of numerous hearings, the completion of the merger is expected to take up to a year or more.

December 3, 2009
New research shows that Meridia, a popular weight-loss drug, has caused a significantly increased number of heart attacks, strokes, resuscitated cardiac arrests or deaths in obese patients getting the drug and should be pulled from the market immediately, Public Citizen said today in a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This is Public Citizens second petition to have Meridia banned; the FDA rejected the first four years ago, saying it was awaiting results of an ongoing trial. The results are in, and they show that the drugs dangers significantly outweigh its benefits.

If the FDA truly intends to operate as a public health agency, then it should acknowledge that the continued approval of this drug cannot be justified based on science, said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizens Health Research Group. The FDA should therefore tell Abbott to pull Meridia from the market immediately.

Public Citizen first petitioned the FDA to ban sibutramine, the active ingredient in Meridia, on March 19, 2002. The organization based its request on results of pre-approval clinical trials that demonstrated increases in blood pressure, pulse rate and palpitations in obese patients taking the drug.

Despite scientific evidence that these patients were three times more likely to experience clinically significant electrocardiogram changes than obese patients taking placebos - coupled with the minimal benefit of an average six-and-a-half pound weight-loss difference between the two groups - the FDA approved the drug in 1997.

By March 2003, there were reports to the FDAs adverse reaction system of 49 cardiovascular deaths among patients taking Meridia. Twenty-seven of the 49 (55 percent) were in people younger than 50 years old. The number is likely higher, as the FDA estimates that only one in 10 adverse reactions to drugs are reported to the agency.

New research

In responding to Public Citizens 2002 petition, the FDA said that until a large, randomized study could provide more conclusive results, Meridia would continue to be sold. Now the early results are in from a persuasive study called SCOUT, in which 10,000 people across Europe participated.

The recently released results of this study reveal a significant increase in heart attacks, strokes, resuscitated cardiac arrests or deaths in obese patients 55 or older with known or undetected cardiovascular disease who used sibutramine, compared with those given a placebo. Both groups were on the same weight management program.

Based on the new findings from the SCOUT study and Public Citizens updated figures based on an analysis of FDA data, Public Citizen calculates that there have been 84 post-approval cardiovascular deaths of patients taking Meridia. This includes 32 patients who were 50 or younger and 11 patients 30 or younger.

About 294,000 prescriptions for Meridia were filled in the past 12 months.

Many of the millions of unemployed workers and dependents who received federal subsidies to help pay for health care coverage have lost those subsidies and are joining the ranks of the uninsured.

According to a report by the health care advocacy group Families USA, the subsidies --which were started last March by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) but were made available for only nine months --have enabled millions of workers and dependents to afford so-called "COBRA" premiums needed to continue health coverage from their previous employer.

As part of the stimulus, the federal subsidies pay 65 percent of the cost of COBRA premiums. Nationwide, the federal subsidies for COBRA family coverage average $722 per month.

Without subsidies, the report finds, nationwide COBRA premiums for family health coverage will cost workers, on average, $1,111 per month-83.4 percent of the average ($1,333) monthly Unemployment Insurance (UI) checks they receive.

For the first recipients, who began receiving subsidies in March, the subsidies expired on November 30. For those who started receiving subsidies after March, the expiration will be nine months after their start-up date.

"When workers lose their jobs, they often lose their health coverage as well," said Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA. "For millions of laid-off workers and their families, the federal COBRA subsidies have been a health-coverage lifeline. It is essential, therefore, that new jobs legislation extends those subsidies."

Pollack claims the pending health reform legislation would provide a permanent source of help to workers who have lost their jobs. He says the health reform bills pending in Congress would enable such workers and their families to obtain health coverage through a newly created marketplace, called an "exchange," and that families with low incomes would receive tax-credit subsidies to help pay the premiums.

According to the Families USA report, average monthly family COBRA premiums vary quite significantly from one state to another -- ranging from $979 in Idaho and $989 in Iowa to $1,232 in Minnesota.

The report also indicates that average monthly UI checks vary substantially from one state to another. The two states with the lowest average UI benefits are Mississippi ($839) and Alabama ($903), and the two states with highest benefits are Washington ($1,826) and Hawaii ($1,808).

In nine states, the average family COBRA premium exceeds the average UI benefit. In Mississippi, for example, the average monthly unsubsidized family COBRA premium is 22.4 percent higher than the average monthly UI check: The average family COBRA premium in the state is $1,027, while the average monthly UI check is $839.

The eight other states in which the average family COBRA premium exceeds the average UI check are: Alabama ($1,005 vs. $903); Alaska ($1,209 vs. $1,032); Arizona ($1,111 vs. $941); Delaware ($1,209 vs. $1,125); Florida ($1,147 vs. $1,010); Louisiana ($1,013 vs. $968); South Carolina ($1,090 vs. $1,061); and Tennessee ($1,112 vs. $975).

"As this report clearly indicates, middle-income families are hurting and there is a pressing need to extend COBRA before the end of the year," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Any extension of the COBRA subsidy program will also likely make the subsidies available to newly-unemployed individuals, according to Families USA. Under the current program, people who lose their jobs after December 31, 2009, will not qualify for the subsidy.

The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Tax Committee estimated that approximately 7 million adults and dependent children would receive the COBRA subsidy in 2009. The Treasury Department is compiling data about how many workers received the subsidy, but a count of the people benefiting from the subsidy is not yet available.

December 2, 2009
The State of Minnesota is taking a chiropractic clinic to court, accusing it of fraudulently enrolling patients for credit cards issued by GE Money Bank, the nation's largest issuer of health care credit cards.

The state's Attorney General, Lori Swanson, and the Minnesota Board of Chiropractic Examiners filed the lawsuit against Okeson Optimal Chiropractic clinic, a Lakeville, Minn., chiropractic clinic, and its owner, Erik Okeson, D.C. The suit claims the clinic fraudulently enrolled patients in health care credit cards by usurping the identities of unrelated third parties and listing them as credit card co-applicants without their knowledge and by inflating patients' actual income.

By listing unsuspecting strangers as co-applicants on other patient's credit cards and inflating patients' real income, the clinic jeopardized patients' credit histories and obligated patients to repay credit card bills on lines of credit for which they otherwise may not qualify," Swanson said . "The clinic wanted patients to qualify for these credit cards so it could pre-bill the cards and make money."

According to the complaints, the defendants pre-billed patients' CareCredit credit cards amounts ranging from $1,200 to $4,300, prior to all services being delivered. If a patient did not pay back the amount charged on a CareCredit credit card on time, default interest rates of up to 29.99 percent apply.

The lawsuit alleges that defendants engaged in the following types of credit card fraud in order to create a source of funding to pre-bill their chiropractic services:

Pre-billing

First, the lawsuit alleges that, in order to ensure that primary applicants qualified for credit cards on which defendants could pre-bill thousands of dollars in up-front charges, the defendants in some cases falsely listed unsuspecting co-applicants on other patients' credit cards, thereby usurping their identities and harming their credit. A co-applicant on a credit card is financially liable for the charges incurred on the credit card by the primary applicant.

The unsuspecting co-applicants typically provided their name and Social Security number to the defendants as part of an initial health screening by the clinic. Some patients learned that the defendants added a co-applicant to their application when they received a CareCredit credit card in the mail along with a statement that included the name of the unknown co-applicant.

The "co-applicants" did not consent to be co-applicants, were not aware they were made co-applicants, and did not know the primary applicant. Some of Okesons patients who were listed as co-applicants on strangers credit cards without their permission have discovered the fraudulent accounts on their credit reports.

Second, the lawsuit alleges that, in order to ensure that primary applicants qualified for credit, defendants also in some cases submitted false and grossly inflated annual income to CareCredit for the patientincome far in excess of the actual income reported by the patient to the clinic.

For example, defendants allegedly told the credit card company that a retiree with annual income of $30,000 earned $120,000; that a gas station worker with annual income of $15,000 earned $180,000; and that a 22-year old nurse's aide earning $15,000 per year earned $120,000.

Inflating incomes

Defendants reportedly told CareCredit that 108 of 283 patients enrolled in CareCredit had income of exactly $120,000 per year. By inflating patients' income to GE Money Bank, defendants obligated patients to repay credit card bills on lines of credit for which they otherwise may not qualify, Swanson said.

Over a 26-month period from June, 2007 through July, 2009, defendants placed about $632,000 in charges on credit cards issued to their patients by CareCredit.

By falsely listing unsuspecting strangers as co-applicants on other patients' credit cards and by inflating patients' income, defendants jeopardized the credit histories of the co-applicants, defrauded the credit card company, and obligated the original patients to repay credit card bills on lines of credit for which they otherwise might not qualify, the complaint alleges.

In recent years, many of the country's largest financial institutions have begun to sell health care credit cards to patients, capitalizing on rising health care costs and gaps in insurance coverage. According to a report by McKinsey & Company, consumers currently charge about $45 billion in out-of-pocket medical expenses on credit cards, and that number has been estimated to triple to $150 billion by 2015.

This is the second lawsuit that Swanson and the Board have filed against a chiropractic clinic for health care credit card fraud. In August, Swanson and the Board filed a lawsuit against Express Health, P.A. and its owner, Cory Couillard, D.C., for enrolling patients in health care credit cards without their permission and inflating patients' income in order to qualify them for credit cards.

Cold weather can mean more than snow shoveling and ice on your car windows. For most consumers, winter weather brings with it higher energy bills. Not only do you tend to use more energy in colder months, some utilities implement higher rates during the winter.

However, there are a number of simple steps you can take to keep your energy bills in check. Some of these steps cost nothing to implement.

For example, just cleaning or replacing the filter on your heating system on a regular basis can save money. Dirty filters block air flow through your heating and cooling systems, increasing your energy bill and shortening the equipments life.

Activate "sleep" features on computers and office equipment that power down when not in use for a while. Turn off equipment during longer periods of non-use to cut energy costs and improve longevity. For example, if you are going away for a weekend, turn off computers and other equipment before you go.

When cooking, keep the lids on pots. Covering a pot traps the heat inside and cooks the food faster, using less energy. To use even less energy when cooking, use a microwave oven whenever possible. When cooking, speed usually saves energy and money.

A fireplace may be romantic but they can be huge energy wasters, especially in cold weather. If you have glass doors over your fireplace opening, keep them closed. Also, close the fireplace damper when not in use.

About 15 percent of an average home energy bill goes to heating water. To save hot water, take five-minute showers instead of baths. Do only full loads when using the clothes washer or dishwasher. Lower the temperature on your water heater. It should be set at "warm," so that a thermometer held under running water reads no more than 130 degrees.

Small investment

By making a very small investment in energy saving improvements, you can increase savings even more. Consider installing low-flow shower heads and sink aerators to reduce hot water use.

Seal and weatherstrip your windows and doors to ensure that you're not wasting energy on heat or air conditioning that escapes through leaks to the outdoors. Materials for this job are inexpensive, but can yield big savings, while increasing comfort, by reducing drafts.

You can make your hot water tank more efficient by investing about $20 for an insulation that wraps around the tank. Add pre-cut pipe insulation to exposed pipes going into your water heater -- it is cheap and easy to install. If youre starting with an uninsulated tank, the energy savings should pay for the improvements in just a few months.

A lot of heat escapes through leaky windows. Storm windows can reduce heat lost by single-paned windows by 2550 percent during the winter. As an alternative, you can improve your windows temporarily with plastic sheeting installed on the inside.

Remember, a house is as energy efficient as its weakest link. When you begin making improvements, focus first on the biggest energy wasters and take care of the problems with no-cost solutions before you start spending money. You may be surprised at how much money just a little effort can save each month.

Thats the good news in Toyland.

The bad news is one in three children's toys tested by the Ecology Center contained lead, arsenic, and other worrisome chemicals. That's one of the key findings in the organization's "2009 Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys."

But a spokesman for the Statistical Assessment Service (STATS), a non-profit organization affiliated with George Mason University in Virginia, said the threat of toxins in toys may not be as dire as the Ecology Center's reports indicate.

"Chemicals in toys may sound alarming, but there's little evidence that they are actually poisoning children. There would have to be some way that the chemicals entered the bloodstream -- something this report doesn't investigate," said Trevor Butterworth. "Simple play is where toys do their most damage: a boy under the age of four has a one in 359 chance of sustaining a non-fatal injury from a toy, while a girl has a 1 in 898 chance."

Over the past three years, the Ecology Center has tested more than 4,000 childrens products for hazardous chemicals and released its annual guide just in time for the busy holiday shopping season. This year, the non-profit organization analyzed nearly 700 toys and children's products, including shoes, belts, wallets, handbags, and backpacks.

Those test results -- now posted on the centers HealthyStuff.org Web site -- revealed:

• The number of childrens products with lead levels higher than the current federal standard of 300 parts per million (ppm) has decreased by 67 percent since 2007. That drop corresponds with a 78 percent reduction in lead-related toy recalls issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPCS), the center said;

• 32 percent of all the toys tested this year contained one or more dangerous chemicals, including lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Thats one in three toys tainted with harmful toxins. Tests revealed cadmium -- a carcinogen linked to lung and prostrate cancer -- in levels greater than 100 ppm in 3.3 % (22 of 669) of all the products tested. Arsenic was found at levels greater than 100 ppm in 1.3 percent -- or nine -- of the products tested;

• 42 percent of the childrens products tested contained polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which the center calls a worst in class plastic because it can contain dangerous additives. Those additives include lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals;

• 18 percent (116) of the products tested contained detectable levels of lead, a chemical linked to developmental and learning disabilities Three percent (17) had lead levels higher than 300 ppm. Seven percent (44) had lead levels of more than 40 ppm, which is the maximum amount the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended in 2007 for childrens products;

• More than half of the 100 plastic handbags tested had lead levels higher than 1000 ppm;

• Two-thirds of the products tested did not contain lead, cadmium, arsenic, or mercury. Many of those products were made in China. Fifty-eight percent of the childrens products tested were not made with PVC. Researchers say that proves its possible for companies to make safe, chemical-free toys.

The centers top researcher says this years findings show manufacturers are listening -- and starting to respond -- to consumers concerns about the safety of childrens toys.

Big impact

The most interesting finding this year is that consumer vigilance on the issue of lead in toys -- combined with increased regulatory consumer protection -- is having a big impact in terms of lead in toys, the centers Jeff Gearhart told ConsumerAffairs.com. People should feel more comfortable this year in terms of lead in consumer products. Theres a lot less of it out there.

We often focus on the negative, but its important that when we see change occurring to acknowledge it, he added. Its happening in this case because theres been a lot of focus on this issue and a push to make manufacturers do testing and clean up their products.

To illustrate his point, Gearhart cited the centers recent tests on the Leapster LeapFrog carrying case.

We tested that product last year and it contained lead, he said. We retested it this year and its (basically) lead-free (23 ppm). The Leapster folks were adamant last year that the product did not contain lead. But the whole time they were adamant, they were finding out that it did have lead. And then they went back and reformulated it.

Thats the overall trend were seeing, he added. The number of products with high levels of lead is down by two-thirds.

But too many childrens products on store shelves still contain dangerous chemicals, Gearhart said.

Whats most worrisome overall is that were still finding one in three toys out there that have detectable levels of one or more chemicals we test for, he told us. While the number with lead is declining, were still finding other chemicals -- cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and other metals -- in these products. And there are still a lot of products that contain PVC.

'Naughty' list

Here are some of the childrens products that made the centers naughty list because they contained high levels of lead, arsenic, bromine and other worrisome chemicals:

• The Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit Tests revealed the kits outer fabric contained 1,865 ppm of lead,163,107 ppm of chlorine, and 3,363 ppm of bromine. The inner line contained high levels of those chemicals, too. Researchers say chlorine in a product indicates the use of PVC. Bromine is part of a family of fire-retardant chemicals called brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Studies have found that exposure to those chemicals can permanently affect brain development in a fetus;

• Dora the Explorer Activity Tote Tests revealed the tote contained high levels of chlorine, including 550,000 ppm in the yellow bottom, 480,577 in Doras purple dress, and 5,680 ppm in the shiny orange vinyl part of the bag. That part of the bag also contained 5,680 ppm of lead;

• High School Musical Argyle Belt Tests revealed this accessory contained 2,871 ppm of lead, 550,000 ppm of chlorine, and some parts contained 379 ppm of arsenic. Researchers say arsenic is an element that can be present in both organic and inorganic compounds. Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen, linked to lung, skin, and bladder cancer;

• Marvel Hot Rod Tests revealed the top of this Marvel Heroes toy car contained 1,940 ppm of lead and 380 ppm of bromine.

'Nice' list

Changes needed

While Gearhart sees some signs of improvements in this years test results, he says the country needs to systematically change the way it regulates chemicals in consumer goods.

If we approach this issue on a chemical-by-chemical basis, it will take forever to get the hazardous chemicals out of toys and other consumer products, he told us. Were pushing for a broader chemical reform.

Recent consumer protections for lead and phthalates in products were a good first step, he added. But we have a long way to go in terms of protecting our children from thousands of other unregulated chemicals in toys and products throughout our economy.

Gearhart said the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) -- an obsolete law passed in 1976 to regulate chemicals -- needs to be immediately overhauled. Under that law, the EPA only requires testing on about 200 of the more than 80,000 chemicals now on the market.

All the stakeholders in this, including manufacturers, have acknowledged that the way we regulate these chemicals is not protecting children or the public, or helping businesses, Gearhart said. If you have to come into this on the tail end -- and force businesses to spend thousands of dollars to test their products and prove theyre safe -- at that point, you have a failure in the system.

Its more effective to show the products are safe going in, he added. And we, (as consumers) need assurances that what is getting into our products is safe.

The U.S. Senate Environment & Public Works Committee today was scheduled to hear testimony from three federal agencies about reforming the TSCA. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Representative Bobby Rush (D-IL) are also expected to introduce a new bill to reform the outdated law.

No. 1 Danger

STATS' Butterworth said there's a bigger danger than trace toxins in toys: the medicine cabinet.

"Young children instinctively put things in their mouth and pills turn out to be a very tempting threat. The Centers for Disease Control found that children were twice as likely to poison themselves with prescription or over the counter medications than other items in the home -- and 75 percent of an estimated 70,000 poisonings each year occurred in children under the age of five," Butterworth said.

Most documented toy injuries come not from poisoning but from simple accidents, he said: "Tripping over a toy and falling, falling on a toy, falling with a toy in mouth, dropping a toy on a foot; swallowing a toy or part of toy, sticking a toy up a nostril and it getting stuck, poking one's self in the eye with toy, sticking a toy in one's ear; being hit by toy thrown by another child, or hitting one's self with a toy. Fatal injuries are, fortunately, very rare."

Meanwhile, consumers looking for chemical-free childrens products this holiday season can search the www.healthystuff.org HealthyStuff.org's Web site by product name, manufacturer, or retailer. The Web site has all the products tested this year categorized according to the levels of toxins found. A Spanish version is also available.

Gearhart said his organization will continue to monitor the chemicals in childrens toys and other consumer products, including pet toys and plastic handbags.

For our next project, we plan to screen and evaluate mattresses from those used in cribs to ones by adults, he said. We will release those findings next year.

Any seasoned homeowner will tell you that re-roofing a house is no small undertaking. Ripping up and replacing worn or broken shingles is a costly and labor-intensive job, but ultimately a necessary one: a neglected roof can cause problems ranging from leaks to rotted beams and structural problems.

The best way to avoid constant roof replacements is to use quality materials the first time around. That's what Patricia Wright thought she was doing when she had Owens Corning Oakridge Shadow 40-year shingles installed on her house in 1998.

Wright, of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, bought the shingles through her contractor, who was convinced of their durability. But in late 2008 and early 2009 ten years after she purchased the shingles Wright discovered that her roof was leaking. In March, she was told that the only way to prevent further damage was to replace her entire roof.

Wright responded by filing a class action lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania. Wright's complaint says that Owens Corning failed to adequately test its shingles for common conditions that it knew, or should have known, could damage the shingles. As a result, the company's shingles routinely deteriorate by cracking, curling and degranulating far in advance of the expiration of warranty periods.

The suit also says that Owens Corning fraudulently marketed the shingles as durable and long-lasting, leading consumers to believe that their roof would be taken care of for decades.

Owens Corning marketed the Oakridge shingle, in particular, as offering premium protection and enduring value [c]onstructed with the most weathering grade asphalt available and a tough Fiberglass mat. Further, the suit says that Owens Corning actively concealed facts about the shingles' design that would have made consumers think twice before buying them.

In addition to Owens Corning's inadequate testing and fraudulent marketing, the suit charges that the company had steadfastly refused to replace defective shingles, even though they are warrantied for up to 40 years. At least one consumer had his warranty claim turned down because he wasn't the house's original owner. The company has done nothing to remedy its warranty procedures or the design of its shingles, the suit charges.

The suit is brought on behalf of all homeowners who have had Owens Corning shingles installed since 1986. The complaint asserts that, in addition to their ruined roofs, the plaintiffs have suffered structural damage to their homes and diminished property values. The action includes counts for breach of contract, breach of warranty, negligence, strict product liability, unjust enrichment, and breach of Pennsylvania consumer protection laws.

Owens Corning is the second-largest asphalt shingle manufacturer in the U.S., and the largest manufacturer of industrial and specialty shingles.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is suing CVS Pharmacy, Inc. for allegedly selling food, beverages and over the counter medications past their expiration dates at 20 or more of its Connecticut stores.

"CVS peddled potentially tainted food and ineffective medicine. Whether CVS was careless or heedless or overzealous for revenue, it betrayed its trust to consumers," Blumenthal said. Any item past its expiration date should be off shelves, out of stores.

Expired items allegedly sold by CVS include cough and allergy medicines, baby formula and antacids, as well as energy drinks and dairy products, such as milk, eggs and yogurt. Investigators found the expired products in the summers of 2008 and 2009, Blumenthal said.

Earlier this month, CVS agreed to pay $875,000 to end a probe by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo into the sale of expired products in its New York stores, and agreed to implement new policies to prevent expired goods from being sold.

Rite Aid reached a similar agreement with New York last year and agreed to pay $1.3 million and adopt new internal policies.

Problem worsening

Blumenthal's investigation showed the problem worsening since last year. Nearly half of CVS stores surveyed this year were found selling expired products compared to about a quarter in 2008. It also showed numerous stores selling expired products both years.

The lawsuit potentially seeks significant monetary penalties for violations of the state consumer protection laws, as well as an order barring CVS from selling products with passed expiration dates.

"Shockingly, our 2009 investigation showed nearly one of every two CVS stores surveyed selling out-of-date food and over the counter medicine. The out-of-date rate -- double last year -- seems definitely worsening," Blumenthal said.

"Out-of-date products were basics like cough and allergy medicine, baby formula and dairy products. CVS' failure to properly police and supervise its shelves -- allowing out- of-date medicine and potentially rotten food to remain -- is unconscionable and unacceptable. Especially appalling is the sale of expired baby formula -- which loses nutrients over time -- robbing infants of vital nourishment."

Check the dates

"When shopping at CVS, consumers should check carefully and scrutinize closely because out-of-date products may still be on shelves," Blumenthal added..

After receiving complaints alleging CVS was selling expired products, Blumenthal's office in the summer of 2008 chose at random about 40 CVS stores statewide for site visits. Investigators found and purchased expired products at 10.

Blumenthal's office visited about 45 CVS stores again last summer, this time finding 20, double the number the year before, selling expired products. That included all 10 found to be selling expired products in 2008.

Blumenthal filed the lawsuit in cooperation with Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr.

Nearly a year after purchasing Wachovia, Wells Fargo may be prepared to consolidate the operations of the two banks.

The Los Angeles Times reports Wells Fargo will close 122 branches in California, as part of that consolidation. The paper quotes a bank official as saying that it will mostly be current Wachovia branches -- smaller and located near larger Wells Fargo branches -- that will be closed.

Even with the downsizing, Wells Fargo will remain one of the larger banks in California, with more than 1,000 branches in the state.

Wells Fargo brokered a deal to purchase Wachovia in the wake of last year's banking sector meltdown, when it suddenly became evident that a number of institutions were insolvent, because of their investment in mortgage backed securities.

In October 2008, The Charlotte Observer reported Wachovia experienced a "silent run" as large customers closed out their accounts, fearful of a collapse. As a result, there were real concerns the bank wouldn't be able to remain open.

The situation became urgent after Wachovia executives noticed an unusual number of withdrawals the day after the Washington Mutual failure. Many of the withdrawals were made by large corporate depositors, who had more than $100,000 in the bank. As a result, the bank's operating capital fell to dangerously low levels.

Interested in buying a Rolex watch for $26 or a Coach bag for $19.95? It might sound tempting but be careful. At a price like that it's either stolen or counterfeit.

But why should you care if it's a rip-off of a designer brand? It only hurts the company, not the consumer, right?

"The distribution and sale of look-alike or counterfeit merchandise is not only deceptive, but also potentially harmful to legitimate businesses and consumers," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett. "Depending on the circumstances, phony goods can also be potentially hazardous because they have not been subject to safety testing or other consumer protection guidelines."

How do you know -- besides the low price -- that an item is a knock off and not the real thing? Corbett says it takes an observant shopper.

Look for colors or styles that aren't used by the manufacturer. Check the quality of the materials used to make the product. Nothing screams "knock off" louder than cheap plastic fasteners and vinyl where there should be leather.

Corbett says there are other tip-offs as well. A counterfeit item will have unusual labeling or packaging and the merchandise may seem out of place in the type of store. For example, you wouldn't expect to pick up a pair of Prada in a discount shoe store.

Along with counterfeit products, Corbett urges consumers to be watchful for scams, especially those that might be linked to electronic classified ads or online auctions.

"Con artists know that consumers are using the Internet to search for bargains," Corbett said. "Offers that seem 'too good to be true,' especially those including requests to wire-transfer money or cash checks, should be approached extremely cautiously."

Corbett said that scam artists can easily generate authentic-looking online ads and auction listing for everything from toys and pets to used vehicles or rental homes - often copying photos and descriptions from legitimate ads.

"Using popular websites like Craigslist or other Internet listings, criminals lure victims with low prices and attractive offers for high-demand items," Corbett said. "Typically, they operate at long-distance in order to hide their true identity or location by communicating only via email and asking consumers to handle all payments by wire-transfer."

The best course of action is to take your time and never act quickly. Corbett said criminals are hoping that consumers will send money before they have time to carefully evaluate the situation or the seller. That's why most scams are structured to force victims to make a quick decision.