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Helen Palmer

Latest from Helen Palmer

  • Prevnar is an expensive vaccine but effective in preventing deadly diseases such as meningitis, so doctors have been using it despite the high cost. Now evidence that it also cuts pneumonia cases makes its price tag seem even more reasonable.

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  • So-called consumer-directed health care plans are touted as an easy way to cut costs for employers. But the high deductible options hit female employees the hardest, because they have more health care needs.

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  • Ads for the drug Celebrex return tonight after a two-year absence, but the focus will be on the aspirin's potential dangers rather than its benefits. Helen Palmer reports on the product's marketing makeover.

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  • A study of women in the Navy has found that smokers are less successful in their jobs, especially those who light up daily. Could be all that extra time they spend smoking instead of working.

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  • Chrysler has struck a deal with Sirius to offer kid-friendly channels like Disney and Nicklodeon on some of its 2008 models. Why would two struggling companies make such a deal? Helen Palmer reports.

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  • Results of a new study suggest that eating a lot of beef during pregnancy may adversely affect fertility of boys in the womb. Researchers found that the more beef the mother ate, the lower her son's sperm count later in life.

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  • A new report claims that stents don't work as well as drugs in preventing heart disease. The news was enough to move the markets. Helen Palmer has the story.

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  • Nearly 40% of college-age women use birth-control drugs. Some of them have had a nasty shock in the past couple of weeks. Helen Palmer reports.

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  • Antibiotics are so cheap and easy to prescribe, there's little incentive for doctors not to, even though resistance grows with each use. But now a think tank has suggested novel approach: If you can't cure the behavior, tax it.

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  • Americans have the most expensive health care in the world. And a study released today says about 30 cents of every dollar paid for our health goes to administrative costs. Helen Palmer reports.

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