Now that the economy is like totally fixed, it's back to the culture war! Yesterday, Archbishop Timothy Dolan, who leads the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he felt betrayed by President Obama's decision to require religious organizations to offer woman birth control without charging them through their insurance. Now the White House is prepared to announce some sort of "accommodation." more ›

A federal judge in Virginia has found that part of President Obama's health care reform is unconstitutional. CNN reports, "U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson struck down the 'individual mandate' requiring most Americans to purchase health insurance by 2014, "An individual's personal decision to purchase -- or decline purchase -- (of) health insurance from a private provider is beyond the historical reach [of the Constitution]. No specifically constitutional authority exists to mandate the purchase of health insurance." (link to ruling)The Justice Department is expected to appeal the ruling. more ›

For two days now the Post has reported on street hawkers who lure Meidcaid recipients to dental clinics, offering cash payments to don the bib—today it turned its focus to the allegedly fraudulent doctors. Billing Medicaid $29 for oral exams, $58 for teeth X-rays, $58 for cleanings and $14 for fluoride treatments, dentists pay the patients around $15-20 per visit, and usually give the shills $10 per person they bring in. more ›

Sketchy Harlem dental clinics aren't the only ones paying low-income New Yorkers to undergo teeth cleanings, the mayor is doing it too! Results are in for Mayor Bloomberg's Family Rewards Program, an effort to promote good habits among poor people by handing out cash. Since the program began two years ago 2,400 families took part receiving a total of $14 million to do responsible things like getting health insurance and attending parent-teacher conferences. There has been some success—10% more families got dental check-ups and others opened bank accounts, instead of immediately cashing checks—but other areas didn't improve enough, and the city will not expand the privately-financed program (which the Post describes as "bribes") into a publicly-financed one. more ›

Reporters at the Post have uncovered yet another incidence of a potential Medicaid scam in which Harlem hustlers herd patients to dental offices, offering them small cash payments to get teeth cleanings or denture work. This time a 27-year-old street seller named Jose, who works with crew of five to seven others was ready, even eager, to chat. "I know this is a multimillion-dollar thing we're doing out here, and it's bad," he said. "Yes, [the dentists] know it's illegal. They don't care. They bill [Medicaid] $300 to $350 [for each person]. more ›

New York City small business have seen their health-insurance premiums increase by an average of 17 percent this year. Small-group HMO plan providers like GHI HMO Select and Healthnet have increased their premiums by 30 percent, while premiums at Aetna and policy rates at HIP of Greater NY rose by 20 percent, according to the Post. more ›

In NY state, Big Gulps are poised to become the new cigarettes. Health officials say they’re ready to instate a tax on fizzy drinks that contribute to obesity rates; they want to charge an extra cent for every ounce of sugary soda (diet sodas are exempt since they contain no calories). On Monday the city and state health commissioners will meet with Gov. Paterson, who’s previously supported such a tax, to hash out a plan. "This is one good thing we could do during a miserable year in Albany," State Health Commissioner Richard Daines told the Daily News. more ›

The NY Times looks at how the end of a federal subsidy to help the unemployed cover Cobra insurance costs may result in people dropping health insurance. For one Queens resident, who was laid off from her job last year, "it reduced her monthly insurance premium to $135.93 from $388.37," but now, paying the full amount, will force her to take out money from her 401K. The Times notes, "From March through November, the federal government picked up 65 percent of the cost. But the subsidy lasts for only nine months and will not be available to people who lose their jobs after Dec. 31, unless Congress extends it. On Wednesday, the House approved a six-month extension, and the bill now goes to the Senate." more ›

Former Knicks coach and current head coach of Big East powerhouse Louisville Rick Pitino is mired in an extortion scandal where it has come out that he had an affair inside a Kentucky restaurant and then paid for the woman to have an abortion. Karen Cunagin Sypher was indicted back in April of attempting to extort Pitino for $10 million. She had since responded to the charges with her own claims that the coach had raped her inside a restaurant and at a second location in 2003. Now the Louisville Courier-Journal obtained police interviews where Pitino admits to having sex with her at the restaurant after its employees had left; an assistant coach on-hand also told police that he heard "only the sounds of two people that seemed to be enjoying themselves during a sexual encounter." The Long Island native Pitino, a married father of five and Catholic who has a priest travel around with his team, then admitted to paying $3,000 for Sypher to have an abortion because she did not have health insurance, an anecdote unlikely to be brought up by the president in his current town hall meetings. Sypher pleaded not guilty to the extortion charges and prepares to go for trial. Sources say Pitino has no plans to take a leave of absence from Louisville. more ›