Health

A labor union, five members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and five community health nurses sued Gov. Corbett and his administration in Commonwealth Court Monday to block a plan to close 26 of the state's 60 public health centers operated by the Department of Health. The plan would eliminate 73 jobs, including 26 community health nurses, SEIU Healthcare PA, the labor union, said in a news release. The petitioners said the closures would violate the Pennsylvania Constitution and Pennsylvania law. Acting Secretary of Health Michael Wolf said he received the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon and could not comment on it, but he reiterated his support for consolidation.

IMAGINE if African-American men and boys were committing mass shootings month after month, year after year. Articles and interviews would flood the media, and we'd have political debates demanding that African-Americans be "held accountable. " But when the criminals and leaders are white men, race and gender become the elephant in the room. Nearly all the mass shootings in this country in recent years have been committed by white men and boys. Unlike other groups, white men are not used to being singled out. So we expect that many of them will protest that it is unfair if we talk about them.

New hope for allergy sufferers For those with allergies and asthma, a new under-the-tongue treatment to desensitize the immune system to allergens may hold promise, finds a review of 63 studies in last week's Journal of the American Medical Association. Used in Europe and Asia, sublingual immunotherapy administers traditional treatments, usually given as shots, in the form of pills or drops that dissolve under the tongue. The idea is the same: Expose the immune system to extracts of substances causing an allergy until it builds tolerance.

Two former employees of the Catholic Health East hospital chain allege in a federal lawsuit filed this week in Philadelphia that the nonprofit's pension plans are underfunded by more than $438 million. Albert R. Chavies and Thomas Holland, who filed the suit Thursday, allege that Catholic Health East wrongfully claims a religious status for its pension plans "to lighten its pension obligations and liabilities, not to adhere to a religious faith. " The health-care network, based in Newtown Square, claims its defined-benefit pension plans as "church plans" under federal rules governing retirement funds.

WASHINGTON - Insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Obama's overhaul, the nation's leading group of financial-risk analysts has estimated. That's likely to increase premiums for at least some Americans buying individual plans. The report by the Society of Actuaries could turn into a big headache for the Obama administration at a time when many parts of the country remain skeptical about the Affordable Care Act. Although some states will see medical-claims costs per person decline, the report concluded the overwhelming majority will see double-digit increases in their individual health-insurance markets, where people purchase coverage directly from insurers.

1 BUCKLE UP EVERY TIME Every year thousands of lives are saved because of seat belts - about 30 percent of highway deaths are attributed to the occupants' not being restrained. 2 ANNUAL CHECKUP See the doctor at least once a year for a physical. When you go to the doctor have your blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol tested. Ask for the results and maintain a file with the numbers. This way you can see where you're trending and manage a problem before it starts.

AS COUNTERINTUITIVE as it may sound, getting inadequate sleep may be making you fat. If you've been skimping on sleep, burning the midnight oil or, worse, burning both ends of the candle, you are likely doing yourself a huge disservice. I know all too well the havoc that lack of sleep can have on your waistline and your health. Many years ago, I worked the third shift at a bank, from midnight to 8 in the morning. Working this type of schedule is just not natural, and consequently, in an effort to stay alert, it drove me to consume copious cups of coffee and snack, snack, snack.

WASHINGTON - A new study finds insurance companies will have to pay out an average of 32 percent more for medical claims on individual health policies under President Obama's health-care overhaul. That could mean higher premiums for at least some Americans - those who are uninsured or who buy policies directly from an insurance company. But for those with an employer plan, like most workers and their families, odds are they won't have much to worry about. The administration is questioning the Society of Actuaries' study, saying that it doesn't give a full picture - and that costs will go down.

Take five or 10 minutes, the professor said, and write down things that you love, like, need, or enjoy. Now pair up with someone you don't know and spend 20 minutes introducing yourself. Talk about whatever you want. But don't mention anything that you wrote down. Try going on for a half-hour without a word about the most important things in life. Imagine a full day. "It might be difficult," said instructor Robin Brennan. "That's what this course is about. That is just a glimpse of what it is like for somebody who is LGBT" - lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.