Either I missed the Public Citizen report on the toll private equity is taking on U.S. health care or I didn’t understand its significance. The report, released in March, says private equity takeovers have come with shocking lapses in safety, with prices rising faster than at non-private equity entities, while patients have been subjected to price gouging.
More than two thirds of online shopping scams begin on the social media platforms Instagram and Facebook, according to an analysis by the Lloyds Banking Group. Fraudsters are preying on shoppers in search of a deal. They’re creating fake business pages, social media ads, and online stores.
It’s a tragedy that more babies are dying in loungers and companies are continuing to sell dangerous ones. Although Boppy newborn loungers were recalled in September 2021 due to the risk that infants can suffocate, shortly after the recall two additional infants died in loungers in unsafe sleep environments.
Financial institutions are increasingly using chatbots, which put out human-like responses using computer programming, to communicate with customers to save money. Chatbots sometimes have human names and use popup features to encourage interaction. Some chatbots use more complex technologies such as “artificial intelligence” to respond to customers.
More than three quarters of adults have used a payment app, called a P2P or peer-to-peer or person-to-person app. Widely used nonbank payment apps include PayPal, Venmo, and Cash App. The apps can be used on a computer or mobile device to send money to someone else without writing a check or handing over cash.
It’s not surprising what last year’s top consumer complaint was. I’ve seen it many times as No. 1 on annual consumer complaint lists. It’s auto sales and repair. “Consumers rely on cars to get to work, school, doctors’ appointments and more,” said Erin Witte, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America.
An “investment opportunity” extremely popular on the social media platform WeChat stole millions from the Chinese community in the United States. Social media posts urged people to “invest” in various household goods and electronics, promising returns of 20-40 percent in one to three months. But it was really a scam.
Research has shown that eating packaged products – such as breakfast cereals, snack bars, frozen meals, and packaged sweets, along with other items – is linked to poor health outcomes, like an increased risk of diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Also, recent studies shown eating highly processed foods are linked to depression and anxiety.
I’m upset. I was due to have my teeth cleaned in January. Since I’ve been busy taking the Dean Ornish heart health program and working on my writing, I just called a couple of weeks ago to get an appointment. What did I learn? My dentist, Dr. Attila Talaber, was in Europe and the other staff were just in the office now and then.
