The Illinois Senate has approved a measure that would create a state-governed "insurance exchange'' so individuals and small businesses can shop for health care coverage as required by President Obama's health law.

Lawmakers voted Thursday 37-19 to send the House a bill -- HB3227 -- establishing the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace.

The exchange would guide people through the purchase of health and dental plans. It would also help qualified businesses enroll employees in health insurance plans.

The Affordable Care Act requires that nearly all Americans have health insurance beginning in 2014 or pay a penalty. New marketplaces are scheduled to be operating by October.

Illinois will begin an exchange this year through a federal partnership. Gov. Pat Quinn hopes to establish a state-run marketplace for 2015. 

A group of former Six Flags Great America employees have raised serious questions about the way first aid is delivered by the Gurnee park, NBC5 Investigates has found.

"I’ve seen strokes, I’ve seen seizures, I’ve seen femur fractures," said Stephanie Galiardo.

"Everything from stubbed toes all the way up to cardiac arrest," added Dinah Tonne.

Six Flags hired Karen Wilkison, Stephanie Galiardo and Dinah Tonne to give first aid at the park.

"I would say the quality of care we were forced to give is not good," said Karen Wilkison.

The former employees are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) or Paramedics. Some worked at the park as early as 2008 and others as recently as 2011. They and seven other colleagues with whom NBC Chicago spoke, including one who still works there, said too often park officials pressured them not to call 911.

"It came from management and they did not want to up their numbers when it came to calling 911," said Wilkison.

The former park employees say sometimes Six Flags was more concerned about its image than providing proper medical care.

"They don’t want to make it seem like the park is unsafe. They don’t want the presence of paramedics and ambulances on scene," added Wilkison.

They also say Six Flags dispatchers would not give them crucial medical information over the radio as they responded to a call for fear someone outside the park might hear about an accident or injury.

"We would ask, 'What is the nature of the injury or the illness? We need to know so that we know which crew to send out there,' and they would just respond, 'Guest illness' or 'Guest injury,'" said Galiardo. "It makes the park look bad. They don’t want the public knowing what goes on at the park."

The women told us they sent their concerns in writing to park officials in April 2012 and also complained about a notice requiring a managers approval to transport employees in need of medical care, saying those managers weren’t as qualified as they were to make a medical decision. They also said the people in charge of emergency care at Six Flags were not doctors, paramedics or EMTs.

Six Flags declined a request for an interview but in a written statement said, "We conform to, or exceed, all local, state and federal standards for emergency care."

The company also said their medical care program is reviewed by an emergency room doctor off site.

Officials said their top priority at Six Flags is the safety of our guests and employees, adding: "We would be both appalled and disappointed if NBC were to run a sensationalist story based on unsubstantiated statements by one or more forger disgruntled employees."

We asked if the women were former employees striking back at the park.

"I’m upset about how patient care was delivered but that’s the extent of it. We don’t want to get back at the park. That’s why we tried to keep it internal by going through the chain of command. The media was not our first avenue,” said Galiardo.

"I’m speaking out now because I will never be able to forgive myself if someone got severely injured or worse died and I knew about this and did nothing about it,” added Wilkison.

As a final point, a Six Flags off-site doctor said that he feels extremely confident the park meets the standards to maintain their medical license. Six Flags also says following the April 2012 complaint, it "completed an exhaustive review of all of our EMS practices…and with the exception of a few minor items that were immediately corrected, the allegations made by these former seasonal employees are false and unmerited.”

We asked Six flags what changes were made and they responded that they would have no further comment.

Scores of Chicago-area doctors added tens of thousands of dollars to their incomes last year by making speeches for drug companies, according to an investigation by NBC Chicago and ProPublica.org.

One local doctor was paid more than $160,000 last year alone -- over and above his regular income -- just to speak and promote the products of three drug companies.

It’s a practice that has long been in the shadows, even though it is all perfectly legal: Drug companies hand out hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of free meals, travel, gifts, and lucrative speaking fees to physicians to promote the same drugs and medical devices that those doctors may prescribe to their patients.

"You would like to think, as a patient, that when you go to a doctor, that doctor is prescribing the safest, most effective and least-expensive drug," said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the Director of the Health Research Group of Public Citizen, a consumer-advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. “That may just not be the case when this doctor has taken a bunch of money from drug companies.”

The potential for conflicts of interest has spurred Congress to demand that all drug companies must make these payments public. By the fall of 2014, every company will be required to list every payment it makes to a medical professional, and what each payment is for. Fifteen companies -- about half -- have already started posting their payments online.

ProPublica, an online investigative website and partner of NBC5 Investigates, has sorted and crunched these already-posted payments into a tool that anyone can use to see if his or her own doctor receives money from drug companies.

Many of these payments are for research or consulting fees, as a pharmaceutical company develops a new medication, for example, or employs a physician to conduct research trials or provide consulting services.

But NBC Chicago and ProPublica examined another type of payment made to doctors: Speaking fees. That’s an area which critics single out as having major potential for conflicts of interest, with money paid purely to promote an already-existing drug.

At least seventy Chicago-area doctors collected $10,000 or more from drug companies in 2012 in speaking fees, over and above their regular incomes, NBC5 Investigates has found. Topping the list is Dr. Israel Rubinstein, a pulmonologist at Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Hospital in Chicago, who was paid $160,425 last year to make speeches for three separate drug companies. Since 2009, Dr. Rubinstein’s speaking income has totaled $318,838. Dr. Rubinstein did not return calls to talk about his speaking fees.

"Physicians are authorized to engage in non-government speaking engagements, [which] cannot conflict with their position at VA," a spokesman for Jesse Brown VA Hospital said in a statement. "Israel Rubinstein, MD, has requested and received permission for a number of outside activities.”

"The doctors who take this money don’t think that the money has any influence on what they say," said Wolfe. "Doctors will tell you, ‘I think it has an effect on other doctors, but not on me.'"

The bias is often subconscious, said Dr. Daniel Sulmasy, a bioethicist and professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

"There are good data showing that even small gifts that are given to physicians actually do influence their prescribing habits," he explained. “The patient can legitimately ask the question, to what extent is that doctor really acting in their best interest, or is that doctor acting because they’re basically being paid to promote the drug?”

To that point, the second-highest-earning local doctor is retired and no longer directly treating patients. Dr. Nicholas J. Gross is a pulmonologist and professor emeritus at Loyola University School of Medicine. He earned $97,650 in 2012 speaking on behalf of Forest Laboratories. He told NBC5 Investigates in a phone conversation that he researches a medication as thoroughly as possible before agreeing to speak about it.

"I could never promote a drug I didn’t believe in," he said.

But Dr. Gross sees the potential for an appearance, at least, of a conflict of interest for doctors who are currently treating patients.

"I understand it is a risky position for some people," he said.

The third highest-earning physician for speaking fees in the Chicago area during 2012 is Dr. Rohit Romesh Arora, a cardiologist at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. He also teaches at The Chicago Medical School in North Chicago. NBC5 Investigates was not able to reach Dr. Arora for comment, and messages left at The Chicago Medical School and the Lovell Health Care Center went unanswered.

Drs. Sulmasy and Wolfe agree that every patient should ask his or her doctors about any payments from drug companies. The ProPublica search tool allows anyone to print out a list of payments, so that a patient can take them to their next doctor’s appointment.

But Dr. Sulmasy warns that the data is complex, and that it can be difficult for patients to sort out valid research payments from speaking fees.

"They find out their physician is getting money from fifty different companies, and they’re trying to make sense of what it all means," he said. "I think it’s going to be very confusing and, in the end, not very helpful."

But Wolfe said the choice may be a simple one.

"I think that more and more patients are going to realize that if they have a choice of going to two doctors … and the only difference between them is that one of them got $20,000 [from a drug company] and the other them got none, which are they going to choose?" Wolfe offered.

That’s all the more reason, he says, to arm patients with this information, in order to get those answers.

"Every time your doctor writes a prescription, you might just say, ‘Can you just stop for a minute and tell me whether that prescription is influenced by the lunches or the speaking fees you get?’ And I think the more that’s done, the more self-conscious doctors will become about accepting this money," he said.

ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. |  ProPublica.org

Cancer survivors and fellow celebrities are praising Angelina Jolie's decision to undergo — and share the deeply personal details about — a preventative double mastectomy.

The surgery was completed last month after Jolie discovered that she carried the "faulty" BRCA1 gene and her doctors estimated that she had an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer.

In a widely shared op-ed published in The New York Times Tuesday, Jolie explains that her mother had died of breast cancer and she wanted to take a proactive role to avoid the same fate.

She explained that she decided to share the details of her medical decision to inspire other women to be proactive about their health.

"I hope that other women can benefit from my experience," she wrote. "Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people's hearts, producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action."

The first to weigh in was her longtime partner, Brad Pitt, who said in a statement to London's Evening Standard that all he wants is for Angelina to have a long and healthy life with him and their children. "Having witnessed this decision firsthand, I find Angie's choice, as well as many others like her, absolutely heroic," he added.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon on Sunday said she supports a bill that would allow the medical use of marijuana in Illinois.

Simon told The Associated Press her initial reaction wasn't in support but after hearing from people with illnesses she changed her mind. She said it's a tightly-restricted plan.

The proposal -- HB 1 -- allows physicians to prescribe marijuana to patients with specific terminal illnesses or medical conditions. It's passed the House and awaits a Senate vote. Gov. Pat Quinn hasn't indicated if he'll sign it.

Supporters say marijuana can relieve continual pain without triggering detrimental side effects of other prescription drugs.

Opponents say the program could encourage recreational use, especially among teenagers. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Sheriffs' Association are opponents.

• April 17: Illinois House OKs Medical Marijuana Bill
• April 17: Illinois Docs Call for Medial Marijuana Legalization
• April 25: Opponents Say Medical Marijuana is Dangerous
• May 9: Illinois Senate Committee OKs Medical Marijuana

Service dogs who spend their days visiting patients at hospitals giving hope and help became patients themselves Wednesday at Hollywood Animal Hospital.

Doctor Rob Swinger is giving free eye exams to registered service and working dogs as part of a national, monthlong program run by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, now in its sixth year.

"A dog that's leading a blind person around needs to have darn good vision so that's what we're looking for today," Swinger said. "So what we're doing is making sure these dogs don't have a problem that would limit them in doing their service."

VIDEO: Firefighter Saves Struggling Dog

During the exam, doctors look for problems including redness, squinting and retinal disease. Swinger quickly discovered something wrong during a checkup for one dog, Gracie.

"I just found out that Gracie has some cataracts and I had noticed some clouding around her eye, so now we can do something to prevent it from getting worse," owner Michelle Fishkin said.

Puppy With Severed Paw Found in Miami

The 35 dogs screened on Wednesday included a group of golden retrievers from Memorial Regional Hospital.

"The dogs are actually incorporated into the patient's therapy, so they're maneuvering down hallways and there's other patients with walkers, stretchers," said Memorial's director of nursing, Tracy Meltzer. "The hallways are very crowded, people are coming and going, so it's very important that the dogs have good eyesight."

Man Rescues Homeless Dog Hit by Car in Little Haiti

After the 15-minute exam, comfort could be found at both ends of the leash.

"It's amazing, just seeing the smiles on these people's faces and the pictures of their dogs, helping other people, it's been a great day," Swinger said.

More Local Stories:

• Pelican in Distress Rescued at Haulover Beach
• Once-Homeless Mother Finds Housing in Time for Mother's Day
• A Look at Miami Marine Stadium as Restoration Campaign Continues

• CDC.gov: Bacterial Meningitis

A paralyzed person can complete a marathon, stand up in the kitchen and climb a flight of stairs to a room.

It sounds impossible, but wearable robots called exoskeletons are allowing people right here in Chicago to do those things.

At a meeting of the American Spinal Injury Association, Gene Laureano shifts from a wheelchair into a device that supports his legs and thighs. It straps around his waist. He grabs two crutches, and though he’s been paralyzed from the waist down since a fall more than 10 years ago, he’s able to get up and walk.

And it’s more than few steps. He navigates a long hotel hallway, walking on both carpet and tile floors.

Laureano remembers the first moment he stood up, at a VA hospital in the Bronx.

“I was emotional when I first stood up," he recalled. "I just stood there looking at the physical therapist. It had been so long since I could talk eye to eye with someone. ... I was savoring the moment." 

He uses the system, called a ReWalk, three times a week at the VA, and admits he never wants to get out of it.

Argo Medical Technologies spokesman Philip Astrachan said the device is already in a few homes and businesses in Europe.

Astrachan describes it as the ultimate man-machine interface.

"It’s not just a device taking a person for a ride," he said. "It’s really important how the two interact together."

And it begins with the slightest motions of Laureano’s upper body, triggering motion sensors that register that he wants to take a step. A complex computer system then signals the motorized joints to begin moving, one step after another.

For anyone who’s seen Iron Man, a wearable bionic suit is a cool fantasy created by Hollywood, but for people like Michael Gore, it’s a reality created by researchers and scientists who took a concept originally intended for military use, and made it their own.

Rather than lifting and moving items two or three times his weight, it’s Gore’s body weight and movement that’s supported by the Parker Indego. This version of the exoskeleton is compact enough so Michael can wear it in his wheelchair, allowing him to use both forms of movement.

Gore is paralyzed from the belly button down after a fall more than 10 years ago. He accepted his wheelchair bound life, but finding this exoskeleton trial has been life changing, he said.

"It makes you feel part of the community when you’re standing. It was overwhelming to think that I'm going to stand up and walk almost as normal as before."
 

Not sure how entrepreneurs (or their spouses) will take this news, but University of California researchers have found that stress can actually be a “powerful and essential mediator of mammalian behavior.” In other words, and to dumb this way, way down: They studied rats and found that up to a certain point, stress actually boosted cognitive function. Once pushed beyond that point, stress took its negative toll.

I’m not sure if this is common sense or not, but it reminds me of a quote I heard on a screenwriting podcast a few weeks ago. Screenwriting, like entrepreneurship, is typically a thankless endeavor, and as such it can supremely stressful.

So how can you tell if you’re pushing yourself too far, or maybe if you’re following the wrong calling?

Well, on this aforementioned podcast, they were discussing exactly this and the oddly poignant consensus was: If you truly are doing what you are supposed to be doing, you will work hard and be excited most of the time; if you are doing something your heart isn’t in it, you will work hard and feel exhaustion more dominantly.

At any point, you’re likely to feel both, but you should keep a tab on your general mental state and see if the stress is helping you (exciting you) or hurting you (exhausting you).

Or, in this study’s words: Acute stress (one-time events like a job interview) may actually be necessary for our health and staying engaged in our activities. Chronic stress is more like the latter examples mentioned above: They’ll wear you out and wear you down over a period of time.

The beautiful thing about this news? The researchers aren’t sure why acute stress can help us out, but it can — two weeks later.

“Some amounts of stress are good to push you just to the level of optimal alertness, behavioral and cognitive performance,” study Co-Author/Professor Daniela Kaufer told the university’s newspaper.

David Wolinsky is a freelance writer and a lifelong Chicagoan. In addition to currently serving as an interviewer-writer for Adult Swim, he's also a comedy-writing instructor for Second City and an adjunct professor in DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media. (He also co-runs a blog behind the DePaul class, DIY Game Dev.) He was the Chicago city editor for The Onion A.V. Club where he provided in-depth daily coverage of this city's bustling arts/entertainment scene for half a decade. His first career aspirations were to be a game-show host.

Watch out, ladies — before you pucker up, make sure your lips aren't covered in poison.

A new analysis at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health tested 32 different lipsticks and lip glosses used by young Asian women commonly found in drugstores and department stores.

The results were troubling: They detected lead, cadmium, chromium, aluminum and five other metals, some of which were found at levels that could raise potential health concerns. Their findings were published online Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Earlier studies also have found metals in cosmetics.

But the Cal researchers estimated risk by analyzing the concentration of the metals detected and consumers’ potential daily intake of the metals, and then comparing this intake  with existing health guidelines, according to UC Berkeley's News Center.

"Just finding these metals isn’t the issue; it’s the levels that matter," said study principal investigator S. Katharine Hammond, professor of environmental health sciences. "Some of the toxic metals are occurring at levels that could possibly have an effect in the long term."

Lipstick and lip gloss are of special concern because when they are not being blotted on tissue or left as kiss marks, they are ingested or absorbed, bit by bit, by the individual wearing them, the study authors said.

For most women, there is no reason to toss the lip gloss in the trash, the study authors said.

But they hoped their study – and discovery of metals in the makeup – would prompt more oversight by health regulators. There are currently no U.S. standards for metal content in cosmetics. The authors note that the European Union considers cadmium, chromium and lead to be unacceptable ingredients – at any level – in cosmetic products.

"I believe that the FDA should pay attention to this," said study lead author Sa Liu, a UC Berkeley researcher in environmental health sciences. "Our study was small, using lip products that had been identified by young Asian women in Oakland. But the lipsticks and lip glosses in our study are common brands available in stores everywhere. Based upon our findings, a larger, more thorough survey of lip products – and cosmetics in general – is warranted."

Using acceptable daily intakes derived from this study, average use of some lipsticks and lip glosses would result in excessive exposure to chromium, a carcinogen linked to stomach tumors. High use of these makeup products could result in potential overexposure to aluminum, cadmium and manganese as well. Over time, exposure to high concentrations of manganese has been linked to toxicity in the nervous system.

Average use was defined as a daily ingestion of 24 milligrams of lipstick a day. Those who slather on the lip color and reapply it repeatedly could fall into the high use category of 87 milligrams ingested per day.

Lead was detected in 24 products, but at a concentration that was generally lower than the acceptable daily intake level. However, the lead levels still raised concerns for young children, who sometimes play with makeup, since no level of lead exposure is considered safe for them, the researchers said.

Ann Rojas-Cheatham, director of research and training at the Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice in Oakland, co-authored the study. The National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Education Research Center helped support this research.

Bishop Larry D. Trotter will have surgery next month to treat prostate cancer.

In a statement released Tuesday, the pastor of Chicago's Sweet Holy Name Church said he recently recently told congregants about the diagnosis. He said doctors have told him the cancer is in its earliest stages and that his prognosis is "good."

"Thanks to routine screening this was diagnosed early and I expect a full and speedy recovery," he said. "After reviewing all the options with multiple physicians, I decided to take a proactive approach and have surgery."

The procedure was scheduled for May 20.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer among men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more than 206,000 men were diagnosed with the disease in 2009, the most recent year for which numbers are available.