Two Minnesota employees have filed complaints against Honeywell for its wellness program, and the federal government is suing to stop it. Court documents filed this month say that Honeywell, as part of its 2015 health benefit plan, requires employees and their spouses to take blood and medical tests that check for smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and other problems. The employees were told about the new procedures in August, and they have until Nov. 14 to undergo testing. If employees opt out of the tests, according to the documents, they can lose up to $1,500 in Health Savings Account contributions, as well as face a $500 charge to their medical plan, or a $1,000 tobacco surcharge.
Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recommended to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday that all members of the armed services working in Ebola-stricken West African countries undergo mandatory 21-day quarantines upon their return to the United States. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, said that Mr. Hagel was expected to announce shortly that he would follow the recommendation. The recommendation follows a directive from Gen. Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, who has ordered a 21-day "controlled monitoring" period for Army personnel returning from the Ebola zone in West Africa.
Three of the largest U.S. medical organizations threw their weight behind new federal guidelines that reject mass quarantines for healthcare workers returning from Ebola-ravaged countries. In a joint statement, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association said the guidance strikes the right balance between protecting public health and ensuring healthcare workers are not "unduly" burdened. "This guidance is based on the best available scientific evidence and provides essential information to public health authorities, state governments, hospitals, clinicians and other health care workers about the appropriate monitoring of individuals who may have been exposed or have had direct contact with a symptomatic person diagnosed with Ebola," the groups said Tuesday.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, seeking to avoid the public criticism over stringent and still-shifting Ebola quarantine policies that has buffeted his counterparts in New York and New Jersey, affirmed a case-by-case approach to quarantines this week that he positioned as a middle path between federal guidelines and more onerous state policies. But such reassurances have not quelled public opposition, with some people concerned that an ad hoc system exposes travelers to abusive treatment. Connecticut's policy, which has been in effect since Mr. Malloy issued an order on Oct. 7 authorizing the state health commissioner to quarantine travelers, has already been invoked to confine nine people to their homes, though one of those orders was rescinded on Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new, tweaked guidelines for how states should handle travelers from Ebola-affected countries, but said measures taken by states such as New York and New Jersey go too far. The new guidelines separate travelers into four categories of risk, from high to low, but none suggest people should be kept forcibly quarantined unless they try to evade monitoring. Instead, those at highest risk should stay close to home and keep off public transport, and allow state or local health officials to check on them daily to make sure they are well.
Of the nine people who have been treated for Ebola in the United States, only one has died. Family members of Thomas Eric Duncan, who was diagnosed with the virus in Dallas after arriving from Liberia, say he did not get all the help they wanted before he died Oct. 8. They now question why his care was different in some ways than that of other patients treated in the U.S. Here are some of the questions raised about his care and answers from health officials. Q: How quickly was Duncan diagnosed? A: Duncan was misdiagnosed with a sinus infection after first arriving at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas on Sept. 25.