Reitz, Wester discuss contract dispute

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and the parent group of Our Lady of the Lake hospital are going directly to residents in their war-of-words over a new contract beginning Feb. 1. Both sent out mailings recently in the disagreement over whether Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System doctors and hospitals would stay in the Blue Cross network. Blue Cross says in its mailing that the health insurer keeps 2 cents of every premium dollar for emergency reserves. It says 14 cents of each dollar goes to in-house salaries, other operating costs and taxes, while 84 cents goes toward physician services and hospital costs. On the other hand, the insurer says 55 cents of each dollar it pays to OLOL goes toward customer medical expenses, while 30 cents goes to subsidize Medicaid, Medicare and uninsured patients, and 15 cents goes to charitable work and other spending.

"The bottom line on these negotiations is, they are by far the highest-paid hospital system in the state, and they want more and they can't justify why," says Mike Reitz, CEO for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. "We've been meeting for months and months and months to understand their cost structure. There is no justification that's been delivered at this point." Scott Wester, president and CEO of OLOL, says the reality of health care financing is that the insured pay to cover the cost of the uninsured and those who aren't fully insured, and that both Blue Cross and Franciscan realize the system needs to change. "In today's environment, that's how health care financing works," he says. Read the full story here.—Todd R. Brown

Shaw completes work on Maryland power plant

The Shaw Group has finished a $1.1 billion project to retrofit three Maryland coal-fueled power plants, a move that has reduced sulfur dioxide emissions by up to 98%. The company's Power Group finished the work at Mirant's Chalk Point, Morgantown and Dickerson Generating Stations. Shaw was awarded the contract in 2007.

National recovery not as strong as previously thought

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2% pace in the third quarter, as the recovery got off to a weaker start than previously thought. However, all signs suggest the economy will end the year on stronger footing. The Commerce Department's new reading on gross domestic product for the July-to-September quarter was slower than the 2.8% growth rate estimated just a month ago. Economists were predicting that figure wouldn't be revised in the government's final estimate on third-quarter GDP. The main factors behind the downgrade: consumers didn't spend as much, commercial construction was weaker, business investment in equipment and software was a bit softer and companies cut back more on inventories, according to today's report. Despite the lower reading, the economy managed to finally return to growth during the quarter, after a record four straight quarters of decline. That signaled the deepest and longest recession since the 1930s had ended, and the economy had entered into a new fragile phase of recovery. Many analysts believe the economy is on track for a better finish in the current quarter.

November U.S. home sales soar 7.4%

Home resales surged to the highest level nationally in nearly three years, reflecting an extraordinary level of federal support that has pulled the housing market back from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. The National Association of Realtors says sales rose 7.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.54 million in November, from a downwardly revised pace of 6.09 million in October. Sales were 44% above last year's levels, a record jump. They had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 6.25 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The median sales price was $172,600, down 4.3% from a year earlier, and up 0.2% from October.

Fantasy football becoming workplace issue

This might be the peak of the season for those passionate souls who partake in fantasy football, but there's evidence that employers are beginning to crack down on the craze. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 22 million Americans spend $800 million annually to pick real NFL athletes to complete their fantasy roster—and some really get into it, sifting through enough stats each day to rival a stock analyst. Needless to say, fantasy football has been known to seep into other aspects of life, such as work. Fidelity Investments in Westlake, Texas, fired four employees this fall for playing the game, according to reports by Fort Worth-area newspapers last week. The investment company instead cited its anti-gambling policy as a cause for their dismissals. One of those fired few, Cameron Pettigrew, the commissioner of his own fantasy football league, told the Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram that he got a raw deal from America's largest mutual fund sponsor. "They called me in and talked to me for about 90 minutes on everything I ever knew about fantasy football. They interrogated me as though I was some sort of international gambling kingpin," Pettigrew told the newspaper. So, exactly how big of a problem is fantasy football for employers? Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement consulting firm, conducted a study last year that found employers lost an estimated $615 million per week in lost productivity due to fantasy football, despite gains in workplace morale and camaraderie.—Jeremy Alford

Poll: Most see stocks rise

Thirty-five percent of people who responded to a Daily Report poll say they've seen the value of their stock portfolio rise by more than 15% this year. Thirteen percent of people who took the survey saw the value of their stocks rise by 11% to 15%, while 16% saw their stocks go up by 5% to 10%. It wasn't all good news: 16% saw the value of their stocks drop this year. Nearly 900 people participated in the survey. A California investment group says the value of U.S. stocks rose by 27% this year or $3.5 trillion.

Today's question: Did your salary or compensation go up in 2009?

News roundup: Textron gets $10 million Army contract ... Mortgage rates starting to rise ... Researcher says pets worse for environment than SUV's

Armored knights: Textron Marine & Land Systems has been awarded a $10 million contract to build 27 more armored security vehicles for the U.S. Army. The Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command ordered the extra Armored Knights vehicles, which are made at Textron's plants in New Orleans and Slidell. The vehicles are set for delivery at the end of 2010.

Third consecutive increase: The average rate 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose nationally for the third consecutive week. The national average rate was 4.77% for the week ending Sunday, compared with 4.72% for the week ending Dec. 13, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor. Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages had a smaller increase, up from 4.21% to 4.24%. Zillow says rates continued to rise on Monday.

Big carbon pawprint: Researchers says that the family dog has a carbon paw print twice a large as an SUV, according to the French news agency AFP. Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living by Robert and Brenda Vale, a pair of New Zealand researchers, says the problem is all of the meat that dogs eat. More than 2 acres of land is needed to generate enough food for a medium size dog. That's about twice the impact of an SUV. The Vales also argue that pets devastate wildlife, pollute waterways with their waste and spread disease. To reduce the environmental impact, they suggest reducing the amount of meat in an animal's diet and avoiding walking dogs in wildlife-rich areas. Read the story here.

Deadline approaching for Business Awards nominations

Nominations are being accepted for the 2010 Business Awards and Hall of Fame banquet. The event is presented annually by the Business Report and Junior Achievement. The categories include: Business Hall of Fame Laureate (for a lifetime of achievement), Company of the Year (under 100 employees), Company of the Year (100 or more employees), Young Business Person of the Year (40 or under) and Business Person of the Year. To nominate your company, yourself, a client, vendor or friend, click here or call 928-7008. The deadline for nominations is Dec. 31. The banquet, which will be held April 20 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, is sponsored by Franklin Press Direct Mail & Printing and Capital One Bank.