From the folks that brought you the credit score system in all it’s glory, here’s MedFICO! It’s a new business project underway with the goal of assessing patient’s ability to pay their medical bills. The system would gather patient’s bill payment history from hospitals around the country and then assign patients a score similar to a credit score. Critics are worried if the same problems with people getting erroneous information in their credit report and then having an insanely difficult time cleaning it up would also affect MedFICO. They also worry whether hospitals would use MedFICO to determine the level of care offered, like whether the person gets a hospital stay or not. FICO scores are now being used by some employers to screen out potential employees, would they use MedFICO to see who might take a bigger chunk out of the health benefits?
Researches Claim To Reverse Netflix's Anonymization
Researchers from Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin say they can reverse Netflix’s anonymous data (which was released in to the public as part of a contest to see if someone could design a better rating system) by comparing it to only a few ratings on IMDb. The result? Specific users can be identified and linked to their (ostensibly) private ratings.
Releasing the data and just removing the names does nothing for privacy,” Shmatikov told SecurityFocus. “If you know their name and a few records, then you can identify that person in the other (private) database.”
Judge Dismisses Class Action Lawsuit Against Overstock.com Due To Mandatory Binding Arbitration Clause
Did you know that every time you purchase something from Overstock.com you agree to a mandatory binding arbitration clause and have no legal recourse against the company? Even if they illegally disclose too much of your information on your receipt?
Will The Foreclosure Tsunami Lead To An Arson Boom?
Faced with foreclosure on her Russellville, Indiana home, Christina Snyder allegedly concocted the kind of plan that now has insurance executives on edge.
The Subprime Meltdown Is The Tip Of The Credit Iceberg
The ongoing subprime meltdown is merely the first destructive wave of credit catastrophe to wash over Wall Street, according to Slate’s resident explainer. Americans drunkenly bandy credit around in several forms: mortgages are the most prevalent loans turning sour, but credit card debt, student loans, and auto loans are silently conspiring to threaten our macroeconomic well-being.
FAA: Southwest Engine Experienced Vibration. Passengers: The Engine Exploded!
According to the FAA, Southwest flight 438 returned to Dallas’ Love Field on November 17 when the plane “experienced a vibration in the number 2 engine” shortly after take-off.
Site Of Most Infamous Mob Murder In NY History Is Now A Starbucks
The site of the most infamous mob murder in New York City history is now a Starbucks, but does anyone care? Nah. We certainly don’t care… but it’s a chance to learn about a mob murder:
Man Attempts To Return Walmart Ammunition At 1300 Feet Per Second
It’s Walmart’s policy, clearly visible on their website and in their stores, that all sales of guns and ammunition are final. One San Diego man didn’t like that policy so he tried to return the ammunition in another way. By firing it in the Walmart parking lot.
GoogleMaps Mashup Of Minneapolis Foreclosures
A googlemaps mashup of 2007 foreclosures to-date in Minneapolis area puts the acceleration in failed mortgages into a different perspective.
Repair Your Credit By Disputing
Max started his journey with a credit score in the low 500s, and now, in a matter of months, it had crested above 600. Eventually, and through great discipline, Max managed to eliminate every negative item on his credit report, simply by asking for proof that they belonged there in the first place.
RIAA Tries To Avoid Paying Expensive Lawyers By Bullying ISPs
“The RIAA has sent out a letter to the ISPs telling them to stop making mistakes in identifying subscribers, and offering a ‘Pre-Doe settlement option’ — with a discount of ‘$1000 or more’ — to their subscribers, if and only if the ISP agrees to preserve its logs for 180 days. Other interesting points in the letter (PDF): the RIAA will be launching a web site for ‘early settlements,’ http://www.p2plawsuits.com”;
That’s cool, just bypass the legal system with a scary letter and a website. ISPs aren’t going to fall for this, are they? Comcast? Verizon? Are you there? —MEGHANN MARCO
Brain Scans Predict If You’ll Buy Something
- When people see something they want to purchase, a portion of the brain called the nucleus accumbens “lights up” on a brain scan. If the price is too high, another region of the brain called the insula is activated and the mesial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is deactivated, Dr. Brian Knutson of Stanford University in California and colleagues report.
FDA Expected to OK Cloned Meat
Is cloned meat safe? The government seems to think so. According to the Seattle Times, “A long-awaited study by federal scientists concludes meat and milk from cloned animals and their offspring are safe to eat and should be allowed to enter the food supply without special labeling.”
Like, Cingular Friends MySpace
According to Reuters, Cingular has cut a deal to offer MySpace on almost all of its cell phones. For a measly $2.99 a month, people not old enough to have cell phones, let alone MySpace profiles, can update photos, check MySpace messages, and update their blogs…all from their phones! It looks like the holidays have come early for internet predators!—MEGHANN MARCO
Military Not Allowed To Test On Civilians
- The development and testing of experimental blood substitutes has been fraught with controversy: Baxter International Inc. stopped research on one such product in 1998 when more than 20 patients given the substitute died.
Eat A BK Octawhopper
The Burger King eat like a snake guy has nothing on this kid who eats eight slabs of meatburger.
