Word: balloon
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LONDON: Richard Branson is down--and lucky to be alive. Just 19 hours into the flamboyant British tycoon's second attempt to make the first nonstop, round-the-world balloon flight, the 174-foot "Global Challenger" experienced technical problems and the three-man crew was forced to land in the Algerian wilderness. "At one stage I was standing by the door chucking out everything movable - oil canisters, food, anything - to halt the descent," Branson said. "I thought, "What am I doing up here?" The acknowledged hero of the safe landing was engineer Alex Ritchie, himself a last-minute replacement...
...modest, targeted cuts. They had long discussions about how best to describe the plan, as they did not want to sell it unwittingly. They honed a line that, according to their polls, sank the popularity of Dole's plan from 65% to 17%: "A risky tax scheme that will balloon the deficit and raise taxes on 9 million working families." Since Dole's plan reduced the earned-income tax credit for low-income families, the consultants could turn his tax cut into a tax increase. The slogan pushed every negative button. "It took his plan out of play," says Schoen...
...billion Medigap market. The group attributed much of the increase in premiums to hospital outpatient charges, which are not capped for Medicare beneficiaries -- and therefore represent an opportunity for hospitals to pad costs. Said Geraldine Dallek, the group's health policy director: "As Medicare squeezed part of the balloon in terms of inpatient costs, the other part of the balloon has expanded." The bad news for seniors: the rise in Medigap premiums far outpaced Medicare inflation or Social Security Cost of Living adjustments in many states. "The sharp increase in Medigap insurance premiums are a threatening prospect for many Americans...
...These results are particularly compelling because patients enrolled in CARE already were benefiting from optimal post-heart attack treatments such as aspirin, beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty," Pfeffer said...
...Heart attacks and other serious complications from BALLOON ANGIOPLASTY, a treatment for clogged arteries, may be significantly reduced by the drug ReoPro. Administered before and after the procedure, ReoPro helps prevent platelets from clotting...