Under Scrutiny, Aetna Scales Back California Health Insurance Rate Hikes

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Health Insurance: After a consumer outcry and more scrutiny from regulators, Aetna has scaled back and delayed planned rate increases for its individual policyholders. Still, average health insurance premiums rise about 12 percent, Duke Helfand reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Cancer Screenings: Need a colonoscopy? You might want to schedule it early in the day, as a new study suggests doctors are less likely to spot potentially cancerous polyps during colonoscopies performed late in the day.

ER Care: Emergency room doctors believe newly insured people helped by health reform will only make their ERs more crowded. ERs aren't filled with uninsured patients but insured ones who can't find a doctor to treat them in a timely way, Julie Rovner reports for NPR.  

Food Safety: An intriguing new study puts a price tag on the types of food poisoning culprits that cost millions of dollars in public health investigations and medical treatment and lost days of work for those who fall ill, Katherine Hobson reports for The Wall St. Journal list. The top pathogen: campylobacter, which costs an estimated $1.3 billion a year in the United States.

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