NEW YORK — Doctors in America are harboring an embarrassing secret: Many of them are going broke.

This quiet reality, which is spreading nationwide, is claiming a wide range of casualties, including family physicians, cardiologists and oncologists.

Industry watchers say the trend is worrisome. Half of all doctors in the nation operate a private practice. So if a cash crunch forces the death of an independent practice, it robs a community of a vital health care resource.

‘A lot of independent practices are starting to see serious financial issues,’ said Marc Lion, CEO of Lion & Company CPAs, LLC, which advises independent doctor practices about their finances.

Doctors list shrinking insurance reimbursements, changing regulations, rising business and drug costs among the factors preventing them from keeping their practices afloat. But some experts counter that doctors’ lack of business acumen is also to blame.

Loans to make payroll: Dr. William Pentz, 47, a cardiologist with a Philadelphia private practice, and his partners had to tap into their personal assets to make payroll for employees last year. ‘And we still barely made payroll last paycheck,’ he said. ‘Many of us are also skimping on our own pay.’

Pentz said recent steep 35% to 40% cuts in Medicare reimbursements […]

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Why do some of us become dissident mental health professionals?

The majority of psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health professionals ‘go along to get along

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Here are several findings from polling of voters on the day of the Iowa caucuses that may — or may not – prove to be important as the GOP race moves on to New Hampshire and beyond.

Romney Gets 1% of ‘True Conservative’ Voters. A quarter of Iowa caucus voters said the most important candidate quality was that they be a ‘true conservative.’ Among these voters, just 1% supported Romney; 37% backed Paul and 36% supported Santorum.

Number of Late Deciders Spikes. Nearly half of Iowa caucus voters (46%) said they decided their vote on the day of the caucuses or in the days leading up to them. Four years ago, 30% said they decided on the day of the voting or in the three days before. Santorum won about a third of the votes from late deciders, more than any other candidate.

The Issue Divides. Just 13% said that abortion was the most important issue in choosing a candidate; these voters overwhelmingly backed Santorum. Far more Iowa caucus voters rated the economy (42%) and budget deficit (34%) as most important: The former group supported Romney, while deficit hawks supported Paul.

More Independents. Independents comprised nearly a quarter (23%) of GOP caucus voters, […]

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Video Information

The blueberries found in blueberry bagels, cereals, breads and muffins are REAL blueberries right? Wrong! Award-winning investigative journalist Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, exposes the deceptive chemical ingredients and dishonest marketing of ‘blueberry’ products from big-name food and cereal companies. The blueberries, it turns out, are made from artificial colors, hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars. See more episodes at www.FoodInvestigations.com

TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO:

Pictures of blueberries are prominently displayed on the front of many food packages. Here they are on boxes of muffins, cereals and breads. But turn the packages around, and suddenly the blueberries disappear. They’re gone, replaced in the ingredients list with sugars, oils and artificial colors derived from petrochemicals.

This bag of blueberry bagels sold at Target stores is made with blueberry bits. And while actual blueberries are found further down the ingredients list, the blueberry bits themselves don’t even contain bits of blueberries. They’re made entirely from sugar, corn cereal, modified food starch, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial flavor, cellulose gum, salt and artificial colors like Blue #2, Red #40, Green #3 and Blue #1.

What’s missing from that list? Well, blueberries.
Where did the blueberries go?

They certainly didn’t end up in Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal. This cereal, made […]

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Residents of Leesburg, Florida were shocked to see their local Social Security office turned into a random Homeland Security checkpoint Tuesday morning, as DHS officers armed with semiautomatic rifles and accompanied by sniffer dogs checked identifications of locals.

‘With their blue and white SUVs circled around the Main Street office, at least one official was posted on the door with a semiautomatic rifle, randomly checking identifications. And other officers, some with K-9s, sifted through the building,

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