Current Events in November 2019

At an event in Austin on Tuesday, Dell unveiled new sustainability targets intended to help advance its mission of shrinking its carbon footprint. 

"Our goals are centered around four areas: Advancing sustainability, cultivating inclusion, transforming lives, and upholding ethics and data privacy," Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies said at the event. 

Under its “Progress Made Real” plan, the tech giant is aiming to reuse or recycle one “equivalent product” for every product a customer buys by 2030. Dell also pledged to make more than half of its devices from recycled or renewable material. 

“100% of our packaging will be made from recycled or renewable material,” Dell said. “More than half of our product content will be made from recycled or renewable material.”

Dell’s competitor Apple has also announced that its making an effort to curb its environmental impact, revealing that, as of last year, all of its facilities were powered by clean energy.

“We’re committed to leaving the world better than we found it. After years of hard work we’re proud to have reached this significant milestone,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. 

“We’re going to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the materials in our products, the way we recycle them, our facilities and our work with suppliers to establish new creative and forward-looking sources of renewable energy because we know the future depends on it.”

A Facebook bug is allowing the Facebook app to activate iPhone users’ cameras while it is active. 

The bug was discovered by web designer Joshua Maddux, who posted on Twitter that it “lets you see the camera open behind your feed.” Other users of Facebook for iOS have also reported the issue, with the earliest incident occurring on November 2. 

Users have said they are able to see the camera feed on the left side of their screen when they open a photo in the app and scroll down. The Next Web notes that the camera feed is only live if the user has given the app permission to access their camera.

Maddux said he spotted the same glitch on a handful of other iPhone devices with the iOS 13.2.2 operating system, but the bug didn’t appear to surface on iOS 12 and has not been reported among Android users.

“I will note that iPhones running iOS 12 don’t show the camera (not to say that it’s not being used),” he said.

Privacy issues

The camera activation bug comes as Facebook attempts to regain users’ trust following a string of privacy incidents. The company recently paid a record $5 billion fine to the FTC over its handling of user data in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Earlier this month, Facebook disclosed that as many as 100 app developers retained data from user groups on the platform. That disclosure came just a few weeks after the company informed the public that it had suspended “tens of thousands” of apps, citing various privacy concerns.

Guy Rosen, Facebook’s vice president of integrity, posted on Twitter that the company is now aware of the bug affecting the app’s use of some users’ cameras.

“Thanks for flagging this,” Rosen tweeted on Tuesday. “This sounds like a bug, we are looking into it.”

SpaceX successfully deployed 60 satellites into orbit on Monday, further advancing founder Elon Musk’s goal of building out a network of devices capable of providing internet access to almost everyone on the planet. 

Musk has already received FCC approval to launch nearly 12,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit as part of a mission dubbed “Starlink.” In October, Musk filed documents requesting approval to deploy an additional 30,000 satellites. 

While Musk strongly believes the broadband-beaming satellites will be of great global benefit, astronomers have raised concern that the array of artificial objects hovering above Earth will adversely affect their job. 

“If there are lots and lots of bright moving objects in the sky, it tremendously complicates our job,” James Lowenthal, an astronomer at Smith College, told The New York Times. “It potentially threatens the science of astronomy itself.”

Hindrance to astronomer views

Astronomer Anthony Tyson of the University of California added that larger telescopes could be the most affected by the satellites’ presence since they require longer exposure times. He said the Starlink constellation could get in the way of whatever astronomers may be trying to view.

“It’s really a mess,” Tyson told the Times. 

Over the summer, Musk responded to a debate on the issue on Twitter, saying SpaceX was looking into ways to minimize the satellites’ reflectivity. He added that the satellites would have "0% impact on advancements in astronomy" and argued that giving "billions of economically disadvantaged people" high-speed internet access is “the greater good."

“That said, we’ll make sure Starlink has no material effect on discoveries in astronomy,” he said. “We care a great deal about science.”

A new study conducted by researchers from Northwestern University found that toddlers who are slower to start talking were found to have more intense and frequent tantrums when compared to those who developed language skills sooner. 

While tantrums can be problematic to deal with in the moment, the researchers found that they can also have negative implications for the future, including learning problems or mental health concerns. 

“We totally expect toddlers to have temper tantrums if they’re tired or frustrated, and most parents know a tantrum when they see it,” said researcher Elizabeth Norton. “But not many parents know that certain kinds of frequent or severe tantrums can indicate risk for later mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and behavior problems.” 

Effects of delayed speech

The researchers had over 2,000 parents participate in a survey which asked about their toddlers’ speech and tantrum habits. The parents involved in the study all had children between the ages of 12 and 38 months; researchers determined that a child was late to develop speech if they had fewer than 50 words learned and used by age two. 

The study revealed that when children had delayed speech, their tantrums were outside the realm of what was typical or expected in other children their age. According to the researchers, these tantrums are oftentimes accompanied by physical violence to others and themselves, and they occurred with the same heightened severity on a regular basis. 

Though serious findings, the researchers don’t want parents to panic or start comparing their children to others. They noted that identifying problem behaviors is the best way for parents to implement interventions that can help their toddlers in the future. 

“Parents should not overreact just because the child next door has more words or because their child had a day from ‘The Wild Things’ with many out-of-control tantrums,” said researcher Lauren Wakschlag. “The key reliable indicators of concern in both these domains is a persistent pattern of problems and/or delays. When these go hand in hand, they exacerbate each other and increase risk, partly because these problems interfere with healthy interactions with those around them.” 

Recent studies have proven how meditation works to help soothe anxiety, and now a new study conducted by researchers from Michigan State University has discovered how the practice can also help consumers’ memory. 

The study revealed that practicing meditation for as little as 20 minutes a day can lead to fewer mistakes and less forgetfulness, as the activity is effective in promoting mindfulness. 

“People’s interest in meditation and mindfulness is outpacing what science can prove in terms of effects and benefits,” said researcher Jeff Lin. “But it’s amazing to me that we were able to see how one session of a guided meditation can produce changes to brain activity in non-meditators.” 

The benefits of meditation

The researchers analyzed over 200 participants in their study to understand how meditation can help consumers be more present and mindful. For 20 minutes, the participants completed an open monitoring meditation, which, according to Lin, requires meditators to “turn inward and pay attention to everything going on in your mind and body.” 

The researchers utilized an electroencephalography (EEG) to analyze participants’ brain activity during the meditation. It was used again during a test following the meditation, which was designed to gauge their mental accuracy and the likelihood that they’d make an error in future tasks. 

Based on the EEG results, the researchers learned that meditation was effective in helping the participants better recognize when they’d made an error. This is important because the researchers hypothesize that consistent meditation could ultimately help consumers reduce their errors overall. 

“These findings are a strong indication of what just 20 minutes of meditation can do to enhance the brain’s ability to detect and pay attention to mistakes,” said researcher Jason Moser. “It makes us feel more confident in what mindfulness and meditation might really be capable of for performance and daily functioning right there in the moment.” 

While these findings are encouraging, especially for those who may be unsure of the benefits of meditation, the researchers hope to continue this research moving forward. 

“It’s great to see the public’s enthusiasm for mindfulness, but there’s still plenty of work from a scientific perspective to be done to understand the benefits it can have, and equally importantly, how it actually works,” said Lin. “It’s time we start looking at it through a more rigorous lens.”

GHNW of Clackamas, Ore., is recalling 10-oz. Mushroom Stir Fry Blend trays and 16-oz. Stir Fry Blend trays.

The products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

No illnesses have been linked by health officials to this recall.

The recalled products with “Sell By” dates of October 27, 2019 to November 8, 2019, which are printed in black ink on the front label of the product, were sold at QFC and/or Fred Meyer in Oregon and Washington State.

What to do

Customers who purchased the recalled products should discard them.

Consumers with questions may call (888) 449-9386, Monday -- Friday, 9 am to 4 pm (PST).

Chrysler is recalling 173 model year 2019 Dodge Challengers and Chargers.

An incompatible front wheel and brake package was installed and may allow the front tire to contact the steering knuckle, causing tire damage.

A damaged tire can suddenly lose air pressure and increase the risk of a crash.

What to do

Chrysler will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front wheels and inspect and replace the front tires, as necessary. Dealers also will inspect the wheel alignment, adjusting it if necessary. The repairs will be performed free of charge.

The recall is expected to begin December 13, 2019.

Owners may contact Chrysler customer service at (800) 853-1403. Chrysler's number for this recall is VB0.

Simmons Prepared Foods of Gentry, Ark., is recalling approximately 2 million pounds of poultry products.

The products may be contaminated with extraneous materials -- specifically metal.

There are no confirmed reports of adverse reactions.

A list of recalled items, produced from October 21, 2019, through November 4, 2019, may be found here.

The recalled products, bearing establishment number “P-1949,” “P- 486” or “P-5837” inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped to institutions in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania.

What to do

Institutions that purchased the recalled products should not serve them, but discard or return them to the place of purchase.

Consumers with questions may contact Donald Miller at (888) 831-7007.

Health officials have identified vitamin E acetate as the cause of a mysterious lung illness linked to vaping that has sickened more than 2,000 people over the past several months. 

In an advisory published Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a majority of the lung fluid samples of 29 patients from 10 different states tested positive for the presence of the substance. 

"Vitamin E acetate is used as an additive in the production of e-cigarette, or vaping, products," the CDC noted in its report. "This is the first time that we have detected a potential chemical of concern in biologic samples from patients with these lung injuries."

The agency added that it continues to recommend that people refrain from using e-cigarettes or vaping products that contain THC, “particularly from informal sources like friends, or family, or in-person or online dealers.” 

“We will continue to provide updates as more data become available,” the CDC said. 

‘Strong culprit’

The FDA initially raised suspicion that the vitamin supplement was causing a surge in lung illnesses back in September, saying it had found it in cannabis products used by many people who had gotten sick over the summer. 

At the time, federal health officials stopped short of naming the substance as the definitive cause of the lung injuries. CDC officials say that the latest findings are a huge step toward finding the primary cause of the illness, although more tests are still needed for confirmation. 

“These new findings are significant," Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, said during a press briefing on Friday. "We have a strong culprit."

The CDC said it hasn’t ruled out the possibility that other ingredients have caused the illness. However, the fact that 23 of the 29 lung fluid samples of people with the illness had vitamin E acetate in them is “noteworthy.” 

In total, the vaping-related lung illness — which was recently named “EVALI” -- has sickened 2,051 people and been tied to 39 deaths. The illness has been reported in every state except Alaska, as well as in Washington, D.C. and one U.S. territory.

Documents released last week by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) shed more light on the March 2018 fatal accident in Arizona involving a pedestrian and an Uber autonomous vehicle.

The accident occurred at night in Tempe, Ariz., killing 49-year old Elaine Herzberg as she pushed her bicycle across a street. Tempe Police told reporters that the Uber car had a human safety driver inside but was in autonomous mode when it struck the woman walking across the street.

The NTSB cited what it called software flaws in the vehicle that struck and killed Herzberg. The federal agency’s documents show the car’s software did not recognize Herzberg as a person because she was jaywalking — that is, crossing the street someplace other than a crosswalk. But it’s something millions of pedestrians do every day.

Two months after the accident, a technology publication cited two sources at Uber for its report saying pretty much the same thing — that the vehicle’s sensors did not recognize the pedestrian as an object that should be avoided.

The emergency braking system wasn’t engaged

The NTSB investigation also reportedly showed that the car involved in the accident did not have the emergency braking system engaged and was relying on the safety driver to stop the vehicle. 

The documents say the system failed to alert the driver that the car was in danger of hitting an object in the road. The driver did not react until 1.2 seconds before impact.

According to Reuters, the NTSB will likely use the results of its investigation of the accident to formalize recommendations that could affect the future of self-driving car technology. Specifically, the agency is expected to address how manufacturers and developers handle software issues.

The full board has a meeting set for later this month to establish a probable cause of the 2018 fatal accident — the first involving a self-driving vehicle.

Reuters quotes an Uber spokeswoman as saying the company’s self-driving car program has adopted “critical program improvements” with the goal of improving safety. She said the company looks forward to reviewing the NTSB’s recommendations.

Uber suspended its test of self-driving cars in Arizona immediately after the accident but resumed testing the following December in Pennsylvania.

According to a report from BloombergNews, Netflix, HBO, and others are about to set out on a hunting expedition for password-cheating consumers. The companies are loaded for bear, too — forming an unofficial coalition to crack down on password sharing and trying to find a way to re-color the gray area that is allowing subscribers to share in the first place.

“You’re not scared, are you?” Netflix Co-Founder & First Netflix CEO Marc Randolph told Yahoo Finance’s YFi PM.

“Well you know there’s abuse and that’s not fair,” Randolph added. “But, the whole time you want to make it easy for people to be flexible. You know, we travel (and) we have family that’s living in different places… from the very beginning it was like this, (and) you don’t want to put in place barriers that impede people who are trying to do the right thing.”

Where the confusion lies

There are a couple of gray areas that might turn from lines in the sand to concrete barriers if Netflix decides to play hardball.

• Household vs. family. In its terms of use, Netflix states that its “service and any content viewed through the service are for your personal and non-commercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household.”
  
  That begs the question of what qualifies as a “household,” what qualifies as a “family,” and what doesn’t. Even Randolph used the word “family” in his interview. One reader responded to Yahoo’s coverage of the story by doubling down on the deductive reasoning that “my brother lives at his own place. He's still my family... and my Netflix account is for my family.”

• The number of screens used. Another conundrum is the number of screens Netflix allows users to watch its service on. In its description of its Premium plan, the company says that all plans “offer unlimited TV shows and movies, on as many devices as you want” instead of saying that its plans “offer unlimited TV shows and movies, on as many devices as you want as long as those devices are used from the same location.”

Netflix is not alone in this fight for eyeballs and billfolds. Reviewers at ConsumerAffairs have also expressed similar concerns over how terms like “family” and “unlimited” are advertised, how streaming companies define those terms, and on how they might lay down the law by using those definitions as weapons.

“I understand that Hulu wants to limit the sharing of their services between people when someone is only paying for one account,” wrote one reviewer. “However, I travel for a living and … now I would be able to continue watching my shows live when on the road. However, within 3 days of using liveTV on "unlimited" devices (paid extra for this as well) it became apparent that they may have an issue with truth in advertising.”

And that consumer’s perception of the truth? “Yes, I can utilize liveTV while traveling but am only allowed to do that 4 times a year - well, that is also not quite true. You see, they limit your ‘unlimited’ ability to just one IP address. If you travel you can change your location 4 times a year, but included in those 4 times is the change back to your actual home location. So essentially you are just limited to traveling with their service twice a year.”

Too much money to leave on the table?

The root cause for potentially shutting down password-sharing is, like many other things, money. Password-sharing has become rather commonplace —  recent surveys found that anywhere from 20 to 27 percent of U.S.-based Netflix users are more prone to share their subscription with others living outside their household. The lost revenue from those shared accounts is apparently costing Netflix and its streaming peers more than company executives would like.

How much are we talking about? ConsumerAffairs ran the math on what Netflix may be losing using the factors of a) its annual subscriber base of 151 million; and, b) what would happen if the company could cut its number of password-sharing users from 27 percent to 26 percent. 

Assuming all of those extra users signed up for a Premium Netflix plan of their own for $15.95 per month, Netflix would stand to make just over $24 million more per month, or nearly $290 million per year. 

What consumers can expect

Vegas isn’t publishing odds on this predicament, but something is likely to happen to the chagrin of consumers. However, what that something is could be anyone’s guess.

“A couple of the techniques that they've discussed are doing things like making you change your password pretty regularly to make sure that you know friends can't just store the password,” said Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw in a video interview. 

“They have also talked about using what's called have two-factor authentication where in addition to logging in with your password you then have to get to a text message to your phone to log in with through the course make it so that only the core of the person with the credit card and with that phone number assigned to that account could use it.”

However, if those measures don’t get the streaming services the clampdown they’d like, Shaw says that more extreme measures are being discussed like fingerprint-identity. “I say that is pretty unlikely because that would be really cumbersome for the user. I know Netflix already will if they see an account that they think is violating or is using too much of a password. Where they'll kind of send an email saying is this really your account sort of gentle reminder that maybe you're breaking the rules,” Shaw said.

Another industry observer — Jared Newman of Cord Cutter Weekly — tweeted that the consumer might have about a year of breathing room before the “draconian stuff” kicks in. “Hardly anyone (except maybe Charter) wants to do anything that pisses off paying customers, which thumbprints and 2FA (two-factor authentication) almost certainly would,” he said.

Amazon will continue to expand its brick-and-mortar footprint through the addition of a grocery store that will exist as an alternative to Whole Foods and Amazon Go, CNET reports. 

Four job listings for the grocery store were posted on Monday for “Amazon’s first grocery store,” which is set to open in Woodland Hills, California in 2020. The company has leased a 35,000 square-foot location that was previously a Toys ‘R’ Us. 

Amazon was rumored to be working towards the opening of a new grocery back in March, when a Wall Street Journal report cited sources as saying Amazon would be opening grocery stores smaller than traditional supermarkets but larger than a typical convenience store. 

The company has now confirmed that the new grocery store format is on the way, but it hasn’t provided details on what the store will be called or what pricing consumers can expect. 

Won’t compete with Whole Foods

Last month, the Journal reported that Amazon’s new stores will sell prepared foods and "mainstream groceries such as soda and Oreos." Amazon told CNET that its new stores won’t compete against Whole Foods, which it acquired in 2017. 

"When it comes to grocery shopping, we know customers love choice, and this new store offers another grocery option that's distinct from Whole Foods Market, which continues to grow and remain the leader in quality natural and organic food," a company spokesperson told the publication. 

The e-commerce giant has taken other steps toward expanding its presence in the grocery sector. In late October, Amazon announced that it would start giving Prime members free grocery delivery through its Amazon Fresh service, which previously cost $14.99 per month.

Avoiding a late-night snack can be difficult for many consumers, but a new study conducted by researchers from the American Heart Association (AHA) could have many women rethinking their nighttime eating. 

The study revealed that women who eat at night could be at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and the more food they consume during the nighttime hours, the higher the risk for disease. 

“So far, lifestyle approaches to prevent heart disease have focused on what we eat and how much we eat,” said researcher Nour Makarem, PhD. “These preliminary results indicate that intentional eating that is mindful of the timing and proportion of the calories in evening meals may represent a simple, modifiable behavior that can help lower heart disease risk.”

The risks of late-night eating

The researchers analyzed 112 women in the study to understand how eating at night affected their heart health. 

The participants’ health and day-to-day dietary habits were tracked using two methods. For one week at the start of the study (and another week a year later) the women reported on their full food intake, including quantity and time of meals and snacks. The second method utilized findings from the AHA’s Life’s Simple 7, which is designed to help consumers maintain healthy habits and prevent disease. 

The biggest takeaway from the study was that eating after 6 p.m. was associated with several negative health side effects, one of which was an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. 

The more the women ate after that 6 p.m. benchmark, the more damage they did to their heart health. The researchers found that waiting until the nighttime hours to eat the majority of daily calories also increased negative outcomes linked to body mass index (BMI), blood sugar, and blood pressure; the findings were similar when the researchers evaluated these same symptoms with calorie intake after 8 p.m. 

The researchers hope that these findings inspire women to start thinking about their health and daily eating habits, as the timing of meals can be just as important as the content of meals. 

“It’s never too early to start thinking about your heart health whether you’re 20 or 30 or 40 or moving into the 60s and 70s,” said researcher Dr. Kristin Newby. “If you’re healthy now or if you have heart disease, you can always do more. That goes along with being heart smart and heart healthy.” 

President Trump says the White House will soon unveil new minimum age requirements for vaping products in an effort to combat teen use. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump said his administration plans to implement a new policy that will raise the age limit for e-cigarettes from 18 to “21 or so.” 

“We’re going to be coming out with a very important position on vaping. We have to take care of our kids, most importantly, so we're going to have an age limit of 21 or so, but we'll be coming out with something next week very important on vaping," he said.

The Trump administration initially proposed banning all non-tobacco flavored pods back in September, saying the move would help reduce youth use of the products since flavored pods tend to appeal to teenage users. 

Critics of the plan have argued that the flavors on the market should remain because they help adult smokers quit. Government officials are now considering raising the minimum age requirement to counter rising levels of teen use. 

"We have a lot of people to look at, including jobs, quite frankly," Trump said. "Because, you know, it's become a pretty big industry."

He added that details on the potential minimum vaping age increase will be coming next week. CNBC points out that the FDA doesn’t have the authority to raise the smoking age, so it’s “unclear” how the Trump administration plans to go about implementing and enforcing a new minimum vaping age. 

Addressing health concerns

Word of the expected policy change comes as health officials continue to investigate an uptick in vaping-related lung injuries. Just a few days ago, the CDC said recent research appears to indicate that vitamin E acetate — which is present in many cannabis vaping products — is a likely culprit. 

Market leader Juul has been called out for its role in fueling what regulators have called a teen vaping “epidemic.” The e-cigarette maker has been a vocal supporter of bumping the minimum age of vaping to 21. 

In March, Juul said “raising the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21 is not the only strategy for reducing underage use, we believe it is critical because it will prevent high-school seniors and recent high-school graduates from purchasing tobacco products and sharing them with underage users.” 

Several states have already enacted state-level regulations to counter teen use. Lawmakers have also pushed to limit the concentration of nicotine in e-cigarettes as a way to address concerns about the health effects of the products. 

Returning to life as usual following a heart attack comes with some obstacles, and a new study found that it could also come with some additional health concerns. 

According to researchers from the American Heart Association (AHA), consumers who suffer from heart attacks could be at an increased risk to later develop cancer. 

“It’s a double whammy,” said researcher Dr. Emily Lau. “Heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death in the United States. We now recognize that they are intimately linked. This tells us that we, as physicians, should be aggressive in trying to reduce cardiovascular risk factors not only to prevent heart disease, but also to consider cancer risk at the same time.” 

Cardiovascular issues increase cancer risk

To understand how heart disease and cancer are so closely related, the researchers analyzed data from over 12,000 study participants, none of whom had any heart-related issues or a cancer diagnosis at the start of the study. 

The researchers followed the participants’ health trajectory over the course of 15 years and assessed the patients’ risk for heart disease using two methods: biomarkers that were injected into the blood and the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology’s Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator. 

The study revealed that the factors that could increase the risk of both cardiovascular disease and cancer are nearly identical, and many of them can be modified by consumers’ daily habits, like diet and exercise. 

While over 1,600 participants ultimately received cancer diagnoses over the course of the study, the researchers discovered that those who had heart attacks were at a considerably higher risk — seven times as likely — than those who didn’t have cardiovascular issues. 

Moreover, the ASCVD Risk Estimator also proved to be an effective way to determine the likelihood of a cancer diagnosis, as those who had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease were more likely to develop cancer than those who ranked lower on that scale. 

Healthier choices decrease risk

Moving forward, the researchers recommend the American Heart Association’s Life's Simple 7 as a great way to not only boost health, but also prevent disease. Simple interventions, like eating better to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, can have lasting positive impacts on consumers’ health. 

“Cancer and cardiovascular disease share many of the same risk factors, such as tobacco use, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity, said Dr. Lau. “The next step is to identify the biological mechanisms driving the link between cardiovascular disease and cancer.” 

Statistics show consumers are burdened with ever-increasing credit card debt, and a new survey helps explain why.

A third of consumers who carry credit card debt are doing so not because they’re taking expensive vacations or eating out every night. A survey by CompareCards shows these millions of consumers are loaded down with medical bills they put on their credit cards.

What’s more concerning is that almost 10 percent of those who paid medical bills with credit cards owe at least $10,000. At a credit card’s high double-digit interest rate, those bills will take years to pay.

Not surprisingly, 30 percent of the consumers who paid a medical bill with a credit card regret doing so. But 60 percent say they would not have been able to pay the bill without resorting to plastic.

Wrecking financial lives

As early as 2001, huge medical bills were wrecking consumers’ financial lives. A Harvard study that year found illness and medical bills caused half of the 1,458,000 personal bankruptcies in the U.S.

The study estimated that medical bankruptcies affect about 2 million Americans annually -- counting debtors and their dependents, including about 700,000 children. Surprisingly, most of those bankrupted by illness had health insurance.

By 2009, a second Harvard study found health problems caused 60 percent of bankruptcies, a 50 percent increase over the results of the 2001 study. Putting a huge medical bill on a credit card with sky-high interest rates could have been a contributing factor.

Credit card balances have gotten much larger in the last decade following the financial crisis of 2009. Credit card debt in the U.S. surpassed $1.03 trillion in the third quarter of this year, according to the Federal Reserve.

What to do

When presented with a large medical bill, try to negotiate with your health care provider before paying the full bill with a credit card. Even if the provider doesn’t advertise an interest-free payment plan, it may have one. That will not only save lots of money, it will allow you to pay the debt much faster.

Providers may also drastically reduce the amount of the bill if they are assured of prompt payment. In that case, your credit card could be a valuable tool. 

Providers like to get paid quickly. Turning your bill over to a collection agency is costly. If you offer to pay immediately with your credit card if the final bill is significantly reduced, you might be surprised at how much they’ll come down. Just be sure that the bill you agree to pay is marked as the final bill and not an installment.

Once the payment is made, you can apply for a personal loan to pay the credit card bill. A personal loan is unsecured, just like a credit card, but the interest rate is often lower.

If you’ve already paid a big medical bill with a high-interest credit card, consider applying for a balance transfer card that offers 0 percent interest for at least a year. Pay as much of the bill as possible during that introductory period so that you’ll pay less in interest once the introductory period ends.

Two tech entrepreneurs say that the new Apple Card appears to have a gender bias when it comes to assigning credit limits.

David Heinemeier Hansson and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak both say they received several times the credit limit than their wives when they applied for the new credit card. 

Hansson, who developed the web-application framework Ruby on Rails, said he and his wife file a joint tax return and that she has a better credit score than he does. Yet when they were approved for the card, he said his credit limit was 20 times higher than his wife’s.

Both men reported the discrepancy on Twitter, blaming the algorithm used by Apple and Goldman Sachs to screen applicants.

New York will investigate

In the wake of these complaints, the New York Department of Financial Services has launched an investigation. Goldman Sachs has declined to say whether it has had any discussions with either of the two tech titans who publicly expressed their concerns.

Apple and Goldman Sachs rolled out the new credit card in August, making it available to all iPhone customers. The card is designed to be used in tandem with the Wallet app on the iPhone. At the time of its launch, Apple said it wanted the card to be a tool to help consumers better manage their money.

The Apple Card is like many regular credit cards. It doesn’t have an annual fee, and it offers 3 percent cash back on Apple purchases and 1 percent on all other purchases. It got a rather lukewarm reception from personal finance experts who noted that most cards don’t currently charge an annual fee, and some offer rewards as generous or more than what the Apple Card pays.

The focus of the controversy is the algorithm used to approve applicants and assign them a credit limit. Reuters quotes a spokeswoman for the New York Department of Financial Services as saying the agency will investigate to determine whether the discrepancy violates state law.

She said the law is designed to make sure all consumers are treated the same and that even unintentional discrimination on the part of a computer algorithm could be a violation.