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Tue. May. 29, 2012 New prosthetics policy could affect Boston Scientific The US Department of Veterans Affairs is planning to rein in rising prosthetic costs by shifting responsibility for ordering some prosthetics, including artificial limbs, from medical personnel to contracting staff. It’s also requiring more documentation on the spending. The changes are designed to reduce prosthetic costs, which have jumped 80 percent in the past four years, according to the VA inspector general.	Advertisement
Former House speaker Tom Finneran leaving his morning talk show at WRKO Tom Finneran, the disgraced former Massachusetts House speaker who was hired by WRKO-AM as a morning talk show host is leaving the radio station after five years, he and station officials said Tuesday. In 2007, Finneran pleaded guilty to lying under oath during a racially-charged voter redistricting case, forcing him to leave the Legislature. Finneran’s parting with WKRO appears to be amicable, with his last day schedule for Thursday. His co-host, Todd Feinburg, will continue to host the program solo.
Massachusetts pension board opposes re-election of Walmart directors, citing Mexico scandal The board of the Massachusetts state pension fund, which has $60 million invested in Walmart Stores Inc. stock, voted against the re-election of seven corporate directors at the giant retailer. State officials said some of the directors, “were deemed too closely associated” with an alleged bribery scandal involving the permitting of Walmart stores in Mexico. The $50 billion Massachusetts pension fund has sometime taken such activist positions under Treasurer Steven Grossman, who is its chairman.
Thomas H. Lee Partners buys Fogo de Chao Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP is buying steakhouse operator Fogo de Chao Churrascaria LLC from GP Investments for an undisclosed sum. Privately held Fogo, founded in 1979 in Southern Brazil and now based in Dallas, has 18 restaurants in the U.S. and seven in Brazil.
Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts soared in April, according to Warren Group report Massachusetts foreclosure activity increased in April as lenders moved to deal with delinquent loans, according to a report released Tuesday by the Warren Group, a Boston company that tracks local real estate. The number of petitions, the first step in the foreclosure process, rose to 1,750, a 47 percent increase from last April, and the highest level in nearly two years, the Warren Group said. The number of finalized foreclosures jumped to 714 in April, 19 percent more than in April 2011.
Mass. gas prices down 4 cents per gallon Gas prices are down in Massachusetts for the sixth consecutive week. AAA Southern New England reports Tuesday that the cost of a gallon of self-serve, regular dropped four cents in the past week to an average of $3.61.
RI jobless rate highest in New England Rhode Island’s unemployment rate for April remains the highest in New England and significantly above the regional average. The New England office of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says the regional rate was 6.9 percent in April, compared to 11.2 percent for Rhode Island. The national average in April was 8.1 percent.
Vertex shares plunge as company concedes data it released earlier this month on a promising cystic fibrosis drug combination was in error Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. plunged more than 18 percent in the first hour of trading Tuesday after the company acknowledged interim clinical trial data it released earlier this month for an experimental drug combination treating cystic fibrosis was in error. In a statement correcting its earlier report on an ongoing midterm study, Cambridge-based Vertex said the interim data -- which sent Vertex’s stock up more than 55 percent on May 7 -- showed relative improvements in breathing for patients taking the drug in a clinical trial, not absolute improvements as the company previously reported.
Schilling says RI played role in company’s trouble Curt Schilling is blaming Rhode Island economic development officials and the governor for much of the financial troubles facing his video game company.
Harvard releases 2010 pay for endowment chief, president Harvard University’s endowment chief, Jane Mendillo, earned $3.5 million in 2010, down from $4.8 million in total compensation in 2009, according to Harvard, which released its latest tax filing Friday. The highest paid manager of the endowment in 2010 was Andy Wiltshire, who earned $5.5 million, Harvard said, for overseeing the outside firms that manage money for the nation’s largest endowment. Harvard’s top investment managers are highly compensated, routinely earning more than anyone else at the university if they beat their investment goals.
Network Health expanding its health insurance coverage to residents in Western Massachusetts Medford health insurer Network Health LLC, which provides coverage for more than 200,000 low- and moderate-income state residents, will be expanding its coverage into Western Massachusetts under the Medicaid managed care plan MassHealth.
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