US Medicare may broaden obesity surgery payment

Reuters: [2008-05-19 23:55:00]

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Medicare program may expand reimbursement for bariatric surgery for the obese, in light of a study that found the treatment can help reverse diabetes, the agency said on Monday.

Recent research found the surgery can completely reverse type 2 diabetes, a metabolic condition spurred by weight gain and suffered by millions of Americans.

Medicare, the government health plan for the nation's 44 million elderly, "will assess the nature of the scientific evidence supporting surgery for the treatment of diabetes," the agency said on its Web site.

The agency will decide whether to set a "national coverage decision," that would set reimbursement policy for all Medicare recipients. It could also decide to not cover the weight-loss surgery for diabetes alone.

The government already pays for the surgery in certain patients, generally those classified as "morbidly obese."

The surgery has been controversial, as some studies have found a higher death rate among some patients.

The prevalence of obesity rose from 15 percent of the adult population in a 1976-1980 survey, to 33 percent from 2003-2004 data, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At the same time, diabetes has become more common in the United States. From 1980 through 2005, the number of Americans with diabetes increased from 5.6 million to 15.8 million, according to CDC.

Allergan Inc <AGN.N> sells a product called the Lap-Band that can be used during certain surgeries. (Reporting by Kim Dixon, editing by Leslie Gevirtz) ((kim.dixon@thomsonreuters.com; +1 202 354 5864)) Keywords: MEDICARE BARIATRIC/

UPDATE-N.Korea close to making nuclear declaration -Hill

Reuters: [2008-05-19 23:51:00]

(Adds quotes, background, details, paragraphs 2-6)

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill said on Monday North Korea was near the point where it would produce an overdue declaration of its nuclear programs but he declined to predict when this might happen.

"We are getting to the point where the declaration is coming," Hill told reporters. "I can't tell you precisely days or weeks but I think we are getting to the point where we are going to be, possibly, getting to this declaration."

The declaration is part of a broader multilateral deal under which North Korea, which detonated an atomic device in October 2006, has agreed to abandon all its nuclear programs in exchange for economic and diplomatic incentives.

The six-party agreement was struck by the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Speaking after talks with senior senior South Korean and Japanese officials, Hill said he anticipated the pace of the process to speed up and that he expected to visit Beijing and Moscow to consult Chinese and Russian officials.

"We expect to have, kind of, a quickening pace in the next few weeks," he told reporters standing beside South Korea's Kim Sook and Japan's Akitaka Saiki, who represent their countries at the six-party talks. (Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Chris Wilson) ((Reuters Messaging: arshad.mohammed.reuters.com@reuters.net; +1 202-898-8300, fax +1 202-898-8383)) Keywords: KOREA NORTH/USA

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Reuters: [2008-05-19 23:41:00]

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U.S. Cash Grain - Poor demand weakens soy, corn mixed

Reuters: [2008-05-19 23:37:00]

    CHICAGO, May 19 (Reuters) - U.S. Midwest soybean basis bids 
were mostly lower on Monday amid a lack of demand, while corn 
prices were mixed, traders said. 
    * Soybean basis bids were down 2 to 6-1/2 cents a bushel at 
river locations. Interior bids were down as much as 15 cents a 
bushel at a location in Illinois. 
    * Farmer selling of corn and soy was slow as producers 
focused on seeding their corn crop. 
    * The declines came amid talk Argentine farmers on a strike 
in protest against export taxes in Argentina could negotiate a 
deal with the government, resuming grain flow. 
    * The talk also tumbled CBOT soybeans, with July <SN8> down 
45 cents at $13.33 a bushel. 
    * Barge freight bids for this week were slightly higher at 
St. Louis and on the Illinois and lower Ohio rivers. 
    * Corn basis values were mixed, rising 5-1/2 cents a bushel 
at Iowa river locations, while dropping 6 cents in Indiana. 
    * USDA said 73 pct of the corn crop was seeded as of 
Sunday, up from 51 pct the previous week but still lagging the 
5-year pace of 88 pct. 
    * Soy was 27 pct planted, vs 47 pct 5-year average. 
    * Egypt's GASC set a tender to buy 55,000 tonnes of wheat 
for July 1-15 shipment. 
    * CBOT July corn <cn8.> fell 4-1/2 cents to $5.86-3/4 per 
bushel; CBOT July wheat <wn8> rose 15-1/2 cents to $7.91. 
    
                           Basis           Prev    Cash price 
Chicago, Illinois 
Corn processors        -17   +  N      -17   +  N       5.6975 
Corn elevators         -40   +  N      -37   +  N       5.4675 
Soybean elevators      -25   +  N      -25   +  N      13.0800 
Wheat elevators       -110   +  N     -110   +  N       6.8100 
Wheat processors       -70   +  N      -70   +  N       7.2100 
Decatur IL corn        -22   +  N      -22   +  N       5.6475 
Decatur IL soybeans    + 5   +  X      +20   +  X      13.3800 
Burns Harbor IN corn   -46   +  N      -40   +  N       5.4075 
Burns Harbor soy       -25   +  N      -21   +  N      13.0800 
Lafayette IN soy        +0   +  N       +0   +  N      13.3300 
Toledo, Ohio (port) 
Corn                   -23   +  N      -24   +  N       5.6375 
Soybeans               + 9   +  X      +10   +  X      13.3100 
SRW wheat (DP)         -90   +  N      -90   +  N       7.0100 
Davenport, Iowa (river) 
Corn                   -58.5 +  N      -64   +  N       5.2825 
Soybeans               -66   +  N      -64   +  N      12.6700 
Evansville, Ind (rail) 15-car CSX 
Corn                   -14   +  N      -14   +  N       5.7275 
Cincinnati, Ohio (rail) 3-car 
Corn                   -15   +  N      -15   +  N       5.7175 
Hereford, Texas (rail) 
Corn                   +41   +  N      +41   +  N       6.2775 
Columbus, Ohio (rail) 3-car 
Corn                   -16   +  N      -17   +  N       5.7075 
Morris, Illinois (river) 
Corn                   -52.5 +  N      -51   +  N       5.3375 
Soybeans               -62   +  N      -55.5 +  N      12.7100 
SRW wheat (new crop)   UNQ   +  0     UNQ   +   0         NC  
Kansas City (rail) 
Corn                    -6   +  N       -6   +  N       5.8075 
Blair, Nebraska 
Corn                   -21   +  N      -17   +  N       5.6575 
Council Bluffs, Iowa 
Yellow corn            -36   +  N      -36   +  N       5.5575 
Soybeans               -13   +  X      -13   +  X      13.0900 
Des Moines, Iowa 
Soybeans              -57    +  N      -57   +  N      12.7600 
Sioux City, Iowa 
Soybeans               -60   +  N      -60   +  N      12.7300 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 
    LINKS: 
    For U.S. forward basis spreadsheets, please click on: 
  <CORN/BASIS>   <SOYA/BASIS>   <WHEAT/BASIS>    <MILO/BASIS> 
 
    * U.S. Midwest cash grain AM               [GRA/M] 
    * U.S. grain barge freight values          [BG/US] 
    * U.S. CIF Gulf Grain                      [GRA/C] 
    * U.S. FOB Gulf Grain                      [GRA/F] 
 ------------------------------------------------------------ 
 (Reporting by K.T. Arasu; Editing by Christian Wiessner) 
 ((ktarasu@thomsonreuters.com; + 1 312 408 8749; Reuters 
Messaging kumarasamy.thennarasu.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
Keywords: MARKETS GRAIN CASH  
    

UPDATE 1-U.S. lawyer Lerach reports to California prison

Reuters: [2008-05-19 23:33:00]

(Adds new paragraphs 10-12 on introduction of bill in U.S. Congress on attorney disclosures)

By Martha Graybow

NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - William Lerach, a prominent U.S. class-action lawyer, reported to a low-security prison in California on Monday to begin serving a two-year term after admitting he participated in an illegal kickbacks scheme at his former law firm.

Lerach is best known for winning more than $7 billion in legal settlements for Enron investors after the energy trader's collapse. He pleaded guilty last October to one count of conspiracy related to his activities at his former law firm, Milberg LLP.

Lerach, 62, reported to a federal prison camp in Lompoc, California, about 175 miles northwest of Los Angeles, said Mike Truman, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The all-male, minimum-security prison camp has more than 500 inmates, he said.

Lerach was ordered to serve two years in prison by a federal judge in Los Angeles in February. He also agreed to forfeit $7.75 million and pay a $250,000 fine as part of a plea agreement.

Lerach admitted he played a role in a scheme to seek out clients with big stock portfolios, ask them to be plaintiffs when negative information surfaced about a company and then secretly pay them a portion of the legal fees the firm received.

Lerach left Milberg in 2004 to form his own San Diego-based law practice. He has retired from that firm, which was not charged in the case. A spokesman for the firm, now known as Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, declined comment on Monday.

Milberg co-founder Melvyn Weiss and several other individual defendants in the kickbacks case also have pleaded guilty. The Milberg firm itself has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges and is scheduled to go on trial in August.

Federal prosecutors say the kickbacks arrangement allowed New York-based Milberg, once the dominant U.S. shareholder litigation firm, to get lead counsel status in class-action securities fraud lawsuits against companies and to collect lucrative fees when cases were settled.

Claiming that businesses are beset by frivolous litigation, some Republican lawmakers say the Milberg scandal may be a sign of wider abuses by lawyers who bring securities fraud class-actions.

On Monday, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, introduced a bill to require plaintiffs and their lawyers in these lawsuits to provide disclosures about any direct or indirect payments between them or other conflicts of interest.

The bill also calls for courts to include a competitive bidding process as one of the factors in picking a lead counsel for a class of plaintiffs, Cornyn said.

"As recent events have shown, current securities litigation laws have been subject to abuse, and there is reason to believe this criminal activity may not be limited to just a few bad actors," Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

(Editing by Andre Grenon/Jeffrey Benkoe) ((martha.graybow@thomsonreuters.com; +1-646-223-6133; Reuters Messaging: martha.graybow.reuters.com@reuters.net)) Keywords: ATTORNEY/PRISON