Earlier this week, Mayor Bloomberg announced a new plan to put health information of millions of New Yorkers online. He touted the initiative, "By bringing this health technology to New Yorkers, we are building a national model for a health care system that works... In Washington, they talk about how our health care system should be reformed; here in New York City, we are actually doing it." Using $60 million of city, state, and federal......

Photograph of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama debating in Cleveland by Kiichiro Sato/AP Senator Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama faced off for the 20th time last night in Cleveland, Ohio, as they head towards the big March 4 primaries next week. The rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination "traded insults," as they accused each other of negative attacks regarding their health care policies. The NY Times described Clinton as "relentless" - insisting on "responding......

A Hillary Clinton campaign stop in Cincinnati became an opportunity for her to blast Barack Obama over what she called "blatantly false" campaign literature. Clinton said, "Shame on you, Barack Obama," as she held the literature in question. “It is time you ran a campaign consistent with your messages in public. That’s what I expect from you. Meet me in Ohio. Let’s have a debate about your tactics and your behavior in this campaign.”......

After Hillary Clinton's started airing a commercial in Wisconsin questioning why Barack Obama declined to appear in another debate, Obama came back with his own ad. The voiceover says:After eighteen debates, with two more coming, Hillary says Barack Obama is ducking debates? It's the same old politics, the phony charges, and false attacks. On health care, even Bill Clinton's own labor secretary [Robert Reich] even says Obama covers "more people" than Hillary and does......

After losing by considerable margins in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia primaries to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton unveiled an ad attacking her rival yesterday. The voiceover says:Both Democratic candidates were invited to a televised debate here in Wisconsin. Hillary Clinton has said yes. Barack Obama hasn’t. Maybe he’d prefer to give speeches than have to answer questions. Like why Hillary Clinton has the only health care plan that covers every American, and the only economic......

It's a refrain that already sounds familiar and will no doubt be repeated many times more: Officials expect real estate revenues to fall, causing lots of number crunching in budgets. The NY Sun reports that the city forecasts "a 39% decline in sales volume for all commercial transactions through 2009, and the median price of those transactions is expected to decline by 32%." Since the city charges 2.6% tax of the sale price, while the......

THEATER: Wolf Lane Productions presents Victims of the Zeitgeist (The Tragedy of Martin Luther King, Jr.), written & directed by Ellwoodson Williams. The production "offers an exciting and telling insight into just who Martin Luther King, Jr., was as leader and simply as a sensitive and intelligent human being who loved life and who had a sense of humor, a deep understanding of the human condition - its strengths and weaknesses - and a profound......

The Health Department revealed that cases of the flu have increased 19% since November. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said urged New Yorkers who haven't gotten a flu shot yet to do so. In November, there was an average of 4,900 flu-related hospital visits; last week, there were 5,832. It's most critical that adults 50 and over (especially those over 65), children between 6 months and 5 years, people with chronic medical conditions, health care......

Today, Governor Spitzer is giving his second State of the State Address. Which makes us recall last year's State of the State. A year ago, everyone was all smiles on the podium as Spitzer delivered his first address [pdf]. It was going to be a new Albany, free of discord and full of bipartisan cooperation to benefit all New Yorkers. Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno was on board (“This is our agenda. Tax cuts, no......

The most famous undeclared presidential candidate, our very own Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has weighed in about the Iowa caucus results. Okay, so Mayor Bloomberg claims he's not running for president, but when you swipe at the actual candidates, have a staff that's investigating the possibility of running a campaign, and have a billion dollars to spare... The Mayor discussed the results(he didn't mention candidates by name) during radio show on WABC (MP3). Well, sort of......

Building workers such as doormen, office cleaners, and janitors will probably not go on strike at the start of 2008 after their local union reached an agreement with Manhattan commercial property owners. Union members still have to vote to ratify the new four year contract, but the union leaders are recommending they do so. NY1 described a jubilant scene with union members cheering upon the announcement of an agreement: "The $6.8 billion deal will give......

There are worries that a proposed $50,000 surcharge on all MD's in the state could do irreparable harm to New York's health care community. The state's medical malpractice liability fund is underfunded, and state insurance superintendent Eric Dinallo is looking for ideas. Doctors unable to obtain liability insurance from commercial carriers are required to get insurance from a pool for high-risk doctors called the Medical Malpractice Insurance Plan, which charges doctors at least 290% the......

In some good news, the bigwigs at Viacom have heard the angry cries of their permanent freelancing employees, and today announced they were ready to concede. Just over one week ago the company Scrooged over a large portion of their workforce when they announced permalancers insurance benefits and their 401K plans would soon be a ghost of Christmas Past. Demanding equal treatment with full time employees (which the permalancers basically are), the group took......

After drivers of Access-a-Ride vehicles went on strike yesterday, a federal mediator will step in and attempt to help negotiations along. The drivers have been unhappy with a tentative contract that put more of the burden of health care on them, which then makes a pay raise less substantial. The strike affects about 40% of the Access-a-Ride drivers; there are about 20,500 people who use the service. MTA, which uses Access-A-Ride but is not part......

Recently Williamsburg doc Jay Parkinson unleashed his revolutionary idea onto Brooklyn -- a doctor for the uninsured, medical advice through emails, and the return of the housecall. The word spread fast and now much of the world is looking his way to see if he can change the way healthcare is provided. How did your non-conventional idea come about and become a reality? I don’t really fit in very well to the traditional doctor mold......

Rudy Giuliani replaced his lead fundraiser. Anne Dunsmore joined the Giuliani campaign in May, and her credentials as the California finance director during President Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections prompted Giuliani to create a special position for her - deputy campaign manager for finance. Dunsmore was leading the drive to raise more than $100 million; she told the Washington Post's The Fix last May, "When you have $100 million situation hitting or missing by 10......

Is it possible that the New York State Health Department finally understands the futility and limitations of trying to keep teenagers from having sex? Instead of receiving and funneling nearly $4 million of federal funds into abstinence-only sex ed programs annually, it decided this week to forego the federal dollars and focus instead on programs dedicated towards teaching good sexual health and avoiding unwanted pregnancies. Starting next month, state funds will be used to fuel......

A look at some noteworthy television this week: The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards (Sunday, 8:00 p.m., WNYW 5) All you have to know is that Ryan Seacrest hosts this years awards. Your decision to view is based on your personal Seacrest tolerance and your need to watch the Yankees vs. Red Sox over on ESPN. Plus you can find out the results on line, so you don’t really have to watch. Mystery! - The Inspector......

Politicians and labor leaders held a rally at Ground Zero Saturday pledging to support efforts to get federal funding for first responders, construction workers, volunteers, residents, and students exposed to health risks during and after the 9/11 attacks. On the sixth anniversary of that day, three New York Congressman––Democrats Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, and Republican Vito Fossella––will introduce the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. The bill would provide healthcare and monitoring to all the......

"I'm a nice old lady. I have salt and pepper in my hair. And I would fight ferociously against anybody who would limit my ability to do something just because I'm sixty-four years old." The Gray Panthers are a pan-generational organization promoting senior citizen rights, but also campaigning for issues such as peace, health care, and workers rights. When Judy Lear joined the NYC network , she revitalized the whole organization. She's led protests, gone......

An anonymous tipster just sent us an email from the New York offices of AOL. Looks like their summer Friday won't include knocking off work early, but they will get a health care professional in office fielding their questions on Tuberculosis! Why? They just received the following in their inbox: Dear AOL colleague, Thursday evening we were notified that a contractor who provided services at our New York offices has tested positive for an active......

There's nothing like an endorsement from Gray's Papaya to show that NYC generally likes Mike. But it seems that to hinge upon his subway straphanger credentials - will the hot dog eatery reconsider, given that he is chauffeured to a subway station 22 blocks away (when there's one four blocks away), only likes to take the express and that his spokesman thinks people who like riding the subway need a shrink (hello, universal health......

As we mentioned, City Councilman Charles Barron held his press conference yesterday to announce his candidacy for the 2009 Brooklyn Borough Presidency. He told the crowds that his platform included affordable housing, health care accessibility, more jobs, standing up to developers who use eminent domain, ending mayor control of schools and more would help everyone. "Am I going to be a borough president for all the people? Absolutely. But I'm letting y'all know now, I'm......

The NY Times reports that Governor Eliot Spitzer is working on an "ambitious and potentially expensive push to expand health coverage to nearly three million more residents." With 15% of the state's residents uninsured, universal health care was one of Spitzer's campaign promises last year. He has also openly criticized the state's health system, saying billions of dollars are pumped into a "broken system with no deliverables and no accountability." According to the Times, Spitzer's......

After Michael Moore's newest documentary, Sicko, leaked onto the internet last week, the movie's distribution companies Lionsgate and Weinstein Co. have taken an unusual tactic to turn unauthorized distribution lemons into viral marketing lemonade. Originally set for a wide release on June 29th, Sicko will now unspool at the Loews Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side starting this Friday, in addition to screening it for preview audiences around the country throughout this week, according......

Two robbers targeted the apartment of Juanita Pena, a 100-year-old wheelchair-bound woman, in the Frederick Douglass Houses at 100th Street and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side yesterday morning. The two men knocked on the door and pushed in when Pena's home health care worker went to answer. They tied her up and put her in a bathroom; when Pena's 71-year-old son came by, they also tied him up with duct tape and put......

Recipe for a Cuban Molotov cocktail: Michael Moore, Harvey Weinstein, a documentary about U.S. healthcare and a federal investigation. No need to mix, because it'll stir into a frenzy on its own. Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore and his distributor, Harvey Weinstein, appeared at a press conference yesterday to question why the government is investigating Moore's trip to Cuba for his upcoming film, Sicko. The film, which premiered at Cannes and is scheduled to open......

The wealthy couple accused of enslaving two Indonesian women in their Long Island home can't buy their way out of prison for $3.5 million. A judge rejected the multi-million dollar bail plan for Varsha and Mahender Sabhnani, calling it an "open invitation to a tea party... a virtual open house." Prosecutors say the couple tortured two women and kept them virtual prisoners in their home while forcing them to work. The Sabhnanis proposed plan would......

The eight Democratic presidential candidates debated in New Hampshire last night, covering immigration, health care, and, of course, Iraq. Former Senator John Edwards, who is a distant third in the polls, went after Senators Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's voting on the Iraq spending bill, saying, "They went quietly to the floor of the Senate. They were among the last people to vote. They cast the right vote, and I applaud them for that.......

A semi-brilliant scheme to fool a health insurance provider by claiming 20 fake brain surgeries has been busted by the federal prosecutors. A group of people scammed Group Health Insurance out of over $300,000 over four years. Most notably, city employee Stanley Canella claimed he, his wife and four sons had nine brain surgeries during that time. The NY Times says it's unclear whether it's the "nine operations" that "piqued the interest of federal investigators"......