Latest news with #Rizzuto
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Policy changes at Hampden County jail precede new $600K settlement in inmate's death
SPRINGFIELD — As part of a settlement heading off a trial, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department has promised the family of a woman who died in its custody that it would make changes to how its jails provide health care. In 2018, Madelyn Linsenmeir's death gained national attention after her family published an obituary detailing her opioid addiction. They argued in court documents that Linsenmeir told police officers she was experiencing chest pain when she was arrested in Springfield, but she did not receive health care for four days while in jail. It was only when she was found unresponsive in a cell that she was taken to the hospital, her family said. She died on Oct. 7, 2018. She was 30. Lawyers for Linsenmeir's family said they recently signed a settlement agreement with the Sheriff's Department that, among its provisions, calls for changes to how medical complaints are recorded during the prisoner intake process, required wellness checks and increased access to medication to treat opioid addiction. 'My sister didn't die of substance use disorder. She died of bias,' said Linsenmeir's sister, Kate O'Neill. 'It was really hard to watch her struggle for treatment for so long.' Among the evidence to be presented at a trial that was scheduled to begin in March: Days before her death, a corrections officer carried a sickened Linsenmeir up a flight of stairs at the county's women's jail in Chicopee. She had a heart ailment (endocarditis, or a heart infection) brought on by drug use. The civil lawsuit filed in federal court argued that both the Springfield Police Department and officials at the jail ignored her pleas, instead scolding her for being addicted to opioids. The settlement, which came together on the eve of trial, also includes $600,000 that will be placed in a trust for Linsenmeir's son, who was about 4 years old at the time of his mother's death. The settlement with the Sheriff's Department follows a $900,000 settlement with the city of Springfield. Sheriff's Department spokesperson Robert Rizzuto said in a statement that the office already had made the policy changes to comply with updated guidelines recently issued by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. 'While we cannot comment on the specifics of any individual case,' Rizzuto said, the Sheriff's Department 'remains committed to providing the highest quality health care to everyone in our custody, especially when it comes to addiction-related services.' Rizzuto added that Sheriff Nicolas Cocchi expressed his condolences to Linsenmeir's family, and that the office was pleased that 'a lengthy and emotional trial' was avoided. Cocchi became sheriff in 2017. Attorneys with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, Prisoners' Legal Services of Massachusetts and Boston-based firm Goulston & Storrs represented the Linsenmeir estate in the litigation. David Milton, an attorney with Prisoners' Legal Services, said the litigation helped shed light on the state of health care in Massachusetts' prisons and jails. 'It is long past time for jails to recognize that addiction is a disease, not a moral failing,' Milton said in a statement. 'Denying proper medical care to incarcerated people living with substance use disorder is cruel and unlawful.' O'Neill said her sister had struggled with opioid addiction since her teens. 'I truly believe Maddy would be alive today if she was not arrested in Springfield, Massachusetts,' O'Neill said. As they announced the settlement, Madelyn Linsenmeir's family released a statement describing how she, a Vermont resident, enjoyed spice cake with maple frosting, was a voracious viewer of the animated sitcom 'Family Guy,' and for her, a day well spent was walking in the woods with her son. 'But what's most important about Maddie is that like every woman currently incarcerated at HCSD's jail, she was someone's daughter,' the statement said. 'She was a mom, sister, aunt, niece, partner and best friend.' Muffin thief or target of retaliation because of her disability? MGM cocktail server sues after firing Top-rated private high schools in Springfield, MA metro area More details emerge from hazmat incident at Hayden Corp. on Monday morning Three WMass drug investigations net 45 guns, 52 arrests, heroin, fentanyl Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Slow-moving rain system targeting Florida: How much rain is in the forecast for Naples?
Those unused umbrellas hidden away in a cars and closets are likely in line for a good workout as early as Monday. Let's call that good news, OK? Actually, it's a double-dose of good news. First, Mother's Day should not be impacted. Second, when it comes to the weather, any rain in the forecast is welcome right now based on the severe drought conditions that has plagued Southwest Florida do far in 2025. According to meteorologist George Rizzuto at the National Weather Service in Miami, SWFL and Naples will be entering a couple days of wet weather on Monday (May 12) and Tuesday (May 13) with the most widespread rain expected on Monday (May 12). "This will hopefully make at least a dent in the severe drought conditions we've been experiencing," Rizzuto said. In terms of rainfall totals, Rizzuto said a fair estimate would be about 2-3 inches total Monday morning through Wednesday morning in the Naples area. "We're still a few days out so there is still some time for the forecast to change a bit, but as things stand now, northern Florida is anticipated to get the higher rainfall totals," he said. Rizzuto said Florida's rainy season begins on May 15 (based on climatology). Is this storm the start of rainy season? "I can't really declare the official start based on one or two rainy days, Rizzuto said, "as this is so variable from year to year. I'd better describe the beginning of the rainy season as a gradual trend towards daily showers and thunderstorms through the beginning and middle of May rather than one specific event. Overall as we head further into May, daily showers and thunderstorms and rainy stretches like this will become more and more common and are pretty typical for this time of year." According to AccuWeather, there's a 25% chance for rain on May 10 for Naples. It will be breezy and humid in the morning with clouds followed by a brightening sky. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Naples rain: Forecast has slow-moving weather system impacting Florida
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
What's the weather forecast for Easter in Naples? Hint: Expect some melted chocolate
Hey, Easter Bunny! Breakout your bathing suit. When it comes to the Easter Sunday forecast, Florida is being Florida. The expectation? It's going to be hot. We reached out to the National Weather Service in Miami for the official forecast. This is what meteorologist George Rizzuoto had to say about the weekend and Easter Sunday in Naples, specifically: "Easter weekend is expected to be warm with highs in the upper 80s/low 90s (88-91) Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Rizzuto said. What about rain? "No rain is expected for the Naples area," Rizzuto said, "and skies should remain mostly sunny. Overall a pleasant weekend ahead!" This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: What is the Easter Sunday weather forecast for Naples, Florida?
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Among the Innovative Healthcare Stocks to Watch in 2025
We recently published a list of the . In this article, we are going to take a look at where UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) stands against the other innovative healthcare stocks to watch in 2025. In the US, healthcare costs and prices have been increasing. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. healthcare spending increased 7.5% from 2022 to $4.9 trillion in 2023. In 2023, the healthcare industry made up 17.6% of the US economy, an increase of 17.4% from 2022. The growth of Medicare and private health insurance is the two leading causes of this increase. The impact of tariffs on this continuing trend has become a significant bone of contention in the healthcare industry as more and more US corporations turn to China for agreements on the next breakthrough chemical, whether in the areas of obesity or cancer. Carlo Rizzuto, managing director of Versant Ventures, spoke on CNBC's "Fast Money" on February 7 about the impact of tariffs on healthcare. Rizzuto says that tariffs may impact the sector in two ways. Products made in China and sold in the US or other countries would be the first. The industry would need to watch how the tariffs are used in the market to comprehend how they would impact such trade operations. Second, and more precisely, the US healthcare industry relies heavily on China as a basis for contract production and research. Consequently, anything that raises that price is probably going to make the market more difficult. Cost hikes won't help the healthcare industry's management, which is already under pressure from investors. Speaking on China's enormous impact in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, Rizzuto said that the vast majority of healthcare companies use a Chinese CRO or manufacturing partner in some capacity during the research and development phase. As a result, it significantly affects how the nation's biotech and pharmaceutical industries function. This trend is rather common in businesses of all sizes. In other words, the lack of infrastructure to facilitate the transfer prevents healthcare corporations from reshoring all of their externalized R&D and production to the United States. Therefore, it is hard to imagine how such a large-scale reshoring might occur. The amount of tariffs imposed can be used to determine the expenses of achieving this objective linearly. According to McKinsey, healthcare EBITDA will rise from a starting point of $676 billion in 2023 to $987 billion in 2028 at a 7% CAGR. Recovery from post-pandemic lows is anticipated to spur progress in several areas, even though development is anticipated to be faster in some (such as specialized pharmacy and HST). Software platforms are essential to the healthcare ecosystem because they let payers and providers operate more effectively in a complex environment. By automating procedures, fostering data connectivity, and producing actionable insights, technological innovation (such as generative AI and machine learning) keeps providing opportunities for stakeholders from all industries. McKinsey predicts that increased utilization and pipeline expansion (as in cancer) will result in a considerable increase in specialty pharmacy income. Specialty pharmacy profit pools are continuing to grow as a result of the rise in the use of specialty medications. For this article, we began by screening the top holdings of the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) to focus on prominent companies within the U.S. healthcare sector. From this list, we selected the top 10 holdings based on their weight in the ETF portfolio. We then ranked these stocks according to the number of hedge funds holding positions in each company as of Q4 2024, based on data from Insider Monkey's hedge fund tracking database. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A senior healthcare professional giving advice to a patient in a clinic. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 150 UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) tops our list for being one of the best healthcare stocks. It operates in the healthcare sector in the US and globally, with four main segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The board of directors approved a $2.10 quarterly dividend per share on February 24. In line with its previous forecasts, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) produced approximately $400 billion in revenue in 2024 and adjusted earnings per share of $27.66. Throughout the year, it concentrated on improving the customer experience, speeding up innovation, and honing its business plan for sustained expansion to solidify its position going forward. Over $16 billion was distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases, while over $17 billion was allocated to expansion initiatives. The company anticipates operational cash flow to be 1.2 times its net income in 2025, or around $33 billion. Optum Rx, a division of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), announced modifications to its payment models on March 20 to better reflect pharmacy expenses impacted by manufacturer pricing. The changes go into effect right away, and they will be fully implemented by January 2028. More than 24,000 independent community pharmacies in Optum Rx's non-affiliated network will profit from this change, which attempts to give customers more reliable and reasonably priced prices. Overall UNH ranks 1st among the innovative healthcare stocks to watch in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of UNH as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UNH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at .
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Among the Innovative Healthcare Stocks to Watch in 2025
In the US, healthcare costs and prices have been increasing. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. healthcare spending increased 7.5% from 2022 to $4.9 trillion in 2023. In 2023, the healthcare industry made up 17.6% of the US economy, an increase of 17.4% from 2022. The growth of Medicare and private health insurance is the two leading causes of this increase. The impact of tariffs on this continuing trend has become a significant bone of contention in the healthcare industry as more and more US corporations turn to China for agreements on the next breakthrough chemical, whether in the areas of obesity or cancer. Carlo Rizzuto, managing director of Versant Ventures, spoke on CNBC's "Fast Money" on February 7 about the impact of tariffs on healthcare. Rizzuto says that tariffs may impact the sector in two ways. Products made in China and sold in the US or other countries would be the first. The industry would need to watch how the tariffs are used in the market to comprehend how they would impact such trade operations. Second, and more precisely, the US healthcare industry relies heavily on China as a basis for contract production and research. Consequently, anything that raises that price is probably going to make the market more difficult. Cost hikes won't help the healthcare industry's management, which is already under pressure from investors. Speaking on China's enormous impact in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, Rizzuto said that the vast majority of healthcare companies use a Chinese CRO or manufacturing partner in some capacity during the research and development phase. As a result, it significantly affects how the nation's biotech and pharmaceutical industries function. This trend is rather common in businesses of all sizes. In other words, the lack of infrastructure to facilitate the transfer prevents healthcare corporations from reshoring all of their externalized R&D and production to the United States. Therefore, it is hard to imagine how such a large-scale reshoring might occur. The amount of tariffs imposed can be used to determine the expenses of achieving this objective linearly. According to McKinsey, healthcare EBITDA will rise from a starting point of $676 billion in 2023 to $987 billion in 2028 at a 7% CAGR. Recovery from post-pandemic lows is anticipated to spur progress in several areas, even though development is anticipated to be faster in some (such as specialized pharmacy and HST). Software platforms are essential to the healthcare ecosystem because they let payers and providers operate more effectively in a complex environment. By automating procedures, fostering data connectivity, and producing actionable insights, technological innovation (such as generative AI and machine learning) keeps providing opportunities for stakeholders from all industries. McKinsey predicts that increased utilization and pipeline expansion (as in cancer) will result in a considerable increase in specialty pharmacy income. Specialty pharmacy profit pools are continuing to grow as a result of the rise in the use of specialty medications. For this article, we began by screening the top holdings of the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) to focus on prominent companies within the U.S. healthcare sector. From this list, we selected the top 10 holdings based on their weight in the ETF portfolio. We then ranked these stocks according to the number of hedge funds holding positions in each company as of Q4 2024, based on data from Insider Monkey's hedge fund tracking database. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). An array of pharmaceutical pills with the company's logo on the bottle. Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 115 Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY), a global pharmaceutical company based in Indianapolis, develops and markets medications across the US, Europe, Japan, China, and other regions. The company said on February 26 that it would invest at least $27 billion to construct four new manufacturing facilities in the US to meet the increasing demand for its diabetes and weight loss medications and to further the development of new drugs. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) had a great year in 2024, exceeding its initial projection by $4 billion and seeing a 32% increase in annual revenue over the previous year. Revenue increased by 45% in just the fourth quarter due to the success of recently released items, which brought in over $3.1 billion. Mounjaro and Zepbound were particularly well-liked. Along with strong growth in immunology, neuroscience, and oncology, the business also witnessed a 20% gain in revenue from its non-incretin portfolio. A positive product mix helped the gross margin increase to 83.2% in the fourth quarter. Investments in early and late-stage initiatives resulted in an 18% increase in research and development costs. Due to its robust sales of new items, operating income more than doubled to $5.6 billion. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) declared on February 28 that Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib), a reversible Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, has been recommended for approval by the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Adults with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have already taken a BTK inhibitor are the target population for this treatment. The recommendation is currently awaiting the final evaluation by the European Commission, which may be a major impetus for the company if it is approved. Overall LLY ranks 2nd among the innovative healthcare stocks to watch in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of LLY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than LLY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds' investor letters by entering your email address below. Sign in to access your portfolio
